


Locker 42

by Charliesimpnation



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Angst, Dalaric, Damon is too aight, Domestic Dalaric hours, Fluff, Hey to the LPHC who may or may not be seeing this, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Ric is baby okay, implied funky
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 16:40:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 35,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28709850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Charliesimpnation/pseuds/Charliesimpnation
Summary: Where I plan to put all my Dalaric fics.Keep in mind this is the only couple I’ve written about in months aside from Drugcon so sorry if things are OOC.Considering everything to be in an AU, since I’m currently working on one for these lads.TWs will be applied to individual chapters (if I forgot to add one, please tell me!)
Relationships: Alaric Saltzman/Damon Salvatore
Comments: 37
Kudos: 28





	1. They Burnt The Fricken Cookies

**Author's Note:**

> Ric’s brilliant idea goes somewhat horribly wrong.  
> But hey, at least we got soft Dalaric out of it.  
> Timeframe: I have no idea  
> Category: Fluff
> 
> First ever Dalaric fic my dudes hope it doesn’t completely suck-  
> My first time writing anything Vampire Diaries related so hopefully someone is gonna wanna join me on this journey of fluff and probably definitely angst at some points

“Listen, I’m just saying it would be easier if we just-“

“We’re not turning the oven up to bake them faster, Damon.”

Damon sighed, pouting a little as he glared at the oven.  
Alaric had another of his brilliant ideas, which of course, meant a whole lot of waiting a whole lack of actual fun.  
He wanted to bake cookies.  
Cookies. With a vampire. How stupid is that?

Incredibly cute, but stupid.  
And maybe Damon is even more stupid for actually agreeing, quite enthusiastically by the way, to do it.

And who’s Ric to tell him how NOT to bake these things? He’s an ex-history-teacher turned vampire turned...occult professor...thing. Whatever you wanna call him, he isn’t even close to a baker.

He just wants to speed up the process! Get the boring stuff over with and get straight to the fun, sweet core of their date.

But nooooo they have to wait because apparently, turning the oven up higher will start a fire.  
Pfff, yeah, sure it will.  
It actually probably will...  
But Damon is gonna pretend that it wouldn’t burn down the house.

And maybe he’s a broken record but cookies!? Really?  
On their one day off, the one day drama-feee day where they get to have a romantic evening, they’re baking cookies?  
There’s so many other things they could be doing!

Like...  
Uh...  
Well he can’t think of any right now but he’s pretty sure they could be doing something else.

“Why couldn’t we have invited vampire Barbie to come do this?” Damon whined, to which Alaric just rolled his eyes.

“Because, first of all, she hates you.” Ric moved closer to Damon, standing next to him as they both stared at the slowly heating oven.  
“And second, this is OUR date. No third wheels, remember?” He glanced over at the vampire with a small smile, and Damon deliberately avoided seeing that soft look, not wanting to get all mushy just yet.

“Are you using my own rule against me now, Ric?” Damon questioned, daring to look at Ric now that he assumed that smile was gone.  
It wasn’t.  
And now the vampire is too caught up in it to look away.

“That’s exactly what I’m doing.” That smile turned into more of a smirk, and damn why is that so hot?

“Screw you.” Damon laughed, looking away to save himself from any falling any further into the Saltzman trap.

“Sure.” Alaric responded way too quickly, sounding a little too eager for Damon’s liking.  
The vampire nearly choked on his own breath.  
“After we get done with these cookies.” He added, clarifying just to make sure Damon didn’t take his last statement as an invitation.

Damon just sat in silence, trying to keep his cool as he recovered from that conversation. He refused to look over at Alaric. That would be too risky. He might snap.  
And then Ric nudged his leg gently with his knee, and he spiraled again.

That’s it. Logic is getting thrown to the wind. Out the window. Like that one time Klaus threw that newspaper through Elana’s window.  
That newspaper is now his logic.

“Why can’t we have a little fun while we wait?” Damon finally turned back to him, smirking as his impulse control was swept away by a fricken history teacher.

“No, we can’t.” Ric sounded more stern now, but that only made Damon smirk harder, shuffling just a little closer to the teacher.  
“Your definition of fun involves a lot more sweating than mine.”

“Exactly. Which is why it’s fun...” Damon moved himself around until he was in front of Ric, blocking his view of the oven.  
Ric laughed a little, but seemed mostly unfazed, as if this was his plan all along.

“One kiss. That’s it.” He offered a compromise to the eager vampire, to which the aforementioned man sighed.

“Really? That’s it?”

Ric stepped back, and the gap between them now was a little bit too big for Damon’s taste.  
“Well if you don’t want it then-“

He couldn’t finish he sentence before Damon was practically latched onto him, kissing him like he needed Ric to breathe.

Kinda funny since he’s a vampire and breathing doesn’t matter all that much, since if he dies he’ll just come back, but that’s not the point.  
The point is that they’re doing this right now. And it’s kinda distracting to say the least.

They got a little too caught up in each other.  
Damon was too lost in the feeling of Ric’s arms wrapping around him to notice the timer on the oven going off.  
And Ric was too busy keeping the kiss going for as long as possible to smell the faint scent of burning chocolate chips.

It wasn’t until Damon opened his eyes suddenly, nudging at the teacher’s shoulder to try and break away, that they noticed it.

Even without Damon’s frankly amazing idea, they still managed to burn their ‘dinner’.

Well great.

•

One extinguished fire and ten minutes of Damon hiding in the living room later, and Ric managed to tame the flames.

Sadly though, he wasn’t able to save the cookies.

Damon finally returned to the scene of the crime, cringing a little as he saw the sad looking burnt circles n the counter.  
“Now that’s just depressing.”

“That’s one word for it...” Ric mumbled, sliding the uh...‘crispy’ cookies off the tray and into the trash can.  
“Rest in peace.”

They had a moment of silence for their fallen chocolate brethren.

When the mourning silence turned into more of a ‘what do we do now’ silence, Damon decided to break it.

“Soo...want some wine?”The vampire asked, and Ric gave him an unimpressed look.

“You’re asking ME if I want wine? Really?”

Damon threw his hands up in defense, rounding the counter so he could lean against it with Ric.

The silence fell again.  
Are they really this terrible at communicating? Guess so. Might be the lack of stress.  
Hah. That’s kinda weird. Stress might make this whole situation less awkward.

Why is it even awkward in the first place? They’re not uncomfortable with each other. It’s not like they haven’t done stuff like this before.  
And yet it feels weird. Weirdly domestic and domestic has never been a word anyone would use to describe Damon Salvatore.

Alaric seems more like the type for that. Actually, he did have something like that for a while.  
And then his entire life got shut down by magic and supernatural beings. All those crazy campfire stories were suddenly real and Ric’s life got ripped away from him.

But in the loss of his old life, he gained a new one.  
And a loving, albeit idiotic, vampire...boyfriend? Partner? He can’t decide what to call him. He’ll figure it out eventually.

Alaric decided to start moving things along again, tired of waiting for Damon to start up his snarky comments again.  
He snaked an arm around Damon’s waist, pulling him until they were side-by-side.

He shifted, keeping his hand around Damon as he placed his arm on the counter, leaning his head against his hand, propping himself up on his elbow.  
Given the angle, he has to look up at Damon now, which is kinda weird, but he can deal with it.

“What?” The vampire asked after a while of way-too-intense eye contact.  
Ric grinned at that. He can’t help himself when he’s around Damon.

“You know what.” Ric replied with a much softer, sweeter tone than he’d had a few moments ago.  
“Just admiring some art.”

“Stop it.” Damon sounded a little cautionary, to which Ric quirked a brow.  
“You’re doing that thing again.”

“What thing?” Alaric asked innocently as he stood up straighter, pulling Damon a little bit closer as he adjusted.

“That mushy thing you do.” Damon spoke like Ric actually knew what he was talking about.  
“Where you get all soft and sweet, which makes me feel all weird and fuzzy, and frankly it’s insultingly out of character for me to feel like that.”

“Is it really though?” Ric asked, his smile never faltering as Damon continued to try and protest this new mood.  
“You don’t have to do that whole tough guy act around me, you know.”

“It’s not an act.” Damon scoffed, shoving at Alaric’s shoulder gently.  
“It’s more of a...shield, thank you very much.”

“Shield, act, same thing.” 

“No. They’re completely different.”

“Okay, how?” Ric was genuinely curious now, and Damon broke their eye contact for a moment as he realized he’s been digging his own grave.

“Well...” He started slowly, still refusing to look directly at the hunter as he searched for proper answers.  
“A shield is a big, protection thingy and an act...an act is a...well an act. You know. Requires acting skills and all.”  
Damon said he was good at making up stuff on the spot. He never said the lies and excuses themselves were actually good.

Ric shook his head with a mix of amusement and fondness.  
Of course he picked this one.  
Out of all the vamps in the world, this is the one that latched onto him and just won’t let go.  
“Sure. Okay. Different things.” He caved, and Damon gave him a triumphant grin.

“Good. Now stop talking and start making this whole mushy thing worth it...”

Alaric considered that for a second.  
He knows what Damon wants, but he doesn’t feel like giving it to him just yet.

So he’s gonna kill him with kindness.

He kept one of his arms wrapped around Damon’s waist, moving his other hand up into the vampire’s hair, playing with it a little.  
Damon isn’t very vocal about what he likes. Not like this, anyways. So it was a guessing game for quite some time.  
Now though, the hunter has picked up on a few things. And Damon does like a little bit of hair-petting every now and then.

Damon wanted to whine or protest. Give some indication that he didn’t like this but then he would be lying again.  
He likes it.  
He really likes it.  
But how is he ever gonna admit that? He can’t. Because he’s Damon. And Damon isn’t supposed to feel this way, right?  
He’s supposed to be the dark, rough guy who recoils in disgust at the slightest affection.

Yeah, screw that.

His eyes start closing a little as Ric’s hand threads through his hair, the hunter kissing everything he could get to aside from Damon’s lips.  
Such a tease.

“Those cookies kinda reminded me of you.” Ric commented suddenly, and Damon gave him a curious look.

“Why? Because they’re as sweet and irresistible as I am?” The vampire smirked, humming happily as Ric continued to run his hand through his hair.

“Actually they reminded me more of your hair.” Ric admitted, and Damon almost looked offended there.  
“And your personality. Hard, bitter, tasteless...” The offended look only got more severe after that. Ric couldn’t help but smile.  
He leaned in once again, lingering in front of Damon, an agonizingly small distance between their lips.

“Jerk.” Damon mumbled, keeping his voice low now that Ric was so close again.  
Ric just laughed.

Damon almost continued his insult-train, but that wasn’t exactly an option now, considering a certain ex-history-teacher-now-occult-professor’s lips are latched onto his.

This time, they didn’t even have to consider the oven or the cookies.  
It’s just them.  
They can melt away and abandon their worries for one night.

Considering Damon doesn’t really need to breathe, their kisses usually last as long as Alaric can go without a break.  
This time though, much like earlier, Damon broke it off, but for a less urgent reason.

“You never answered my question...” Despite not really needing to breath, he still sounded breathless, adding to this whole situation.  
“...about the wine...”

“Screw the wine...” Ric whispered, sounding equally as out of breath, but his panting was actually needed. He was desperately trying to keep himself from passing out, while Damon doesn’t really have to worry about that.  
“I think we can have some fun now...”

And that made Damon smirk.  
Finally, Ric is letting him have his way.

•

Ric couldn’t help himself. He needs to look at his vampire.  
He lulled his head to the side, lips quirking up into a smile as he saw those beautiful blue eyes gazing up at the ceiling.

“Aside from the burnt cookies...” Ric started, the sound of his voice kinda weird to him now that they’ve been sitting in silence for so long.  
“Today was nice.”

“Yup.” Damon replied with a sigh, sounding more disappointed than anything.  
“And tomorrow it’s all gonna go poof-“ He made one of his little hand gestures as if to imply something disappearing. “-and I’m probably gonna get my neck snapped again.  
He felt the back of Ric’s hand run gently down his neck, the hunter letting out a soft hum.

“Not if I have anything to say about it...”

“You know you can’t stop them, Ric.” Damon chuckled, tilting his head as well to look at Alaric directly.  
“If they wanna kill me, they’ll kill me. My neck is free real estate.”

Alaric huffed in disapproval at that, but didn’t deny it.  
If he could have his way, he wouldn’t let anyone lay a hand on Damon. He’s a big boy, sure, and he can handle himself.  
But it’s not a crime to feel protective towards your vampire-boyfriend-partner-guy, right?

Ric lifted his arm as an invitation, hoping for Damon to shimmy over and snuggle into his side or something.  
The vampire didn’t do anything.

“You know I don’t do cuddles, Ric.”

The hunter sighed, but nodded, rolling over into his side, leaving Damon to lay on his own on his side of the bed.

Damon waited for a bit.  
Kept himself awake until he was sure Ric was asleep.  
Even after he was sure, he gave it a few more minutes just to make sure.

And that’s when he scooted over, wrapping his arms around Alaric as he snuggled as close as he possibly could to him.  
He closed his eyes, sighing lightly as he finally felt himself starting to drift off.

Safety. That’s a feeling vampires don’t get to feel very often. Constantly jumping around, avoiding familiarity in favor of safety.  
But right now, Damon Salvatore feels pretty damn safe. Loved, at the very least. Even if Ric sucks at flirting, his bad jokes are enough for this vamp.

So Damon snuggled into him more, curling up against his hunter.

Oh if only he knew how savvy Ric has gotten to his ways.  
If he knew that Ric was awake, smiling to himself as he felt the warmth of Damon’s arms wrapped firmly around him, he probably would have yelled at him.

Or he wouldn’t have said a word.  
Because sometimes, even Damon likes to keep this little moments intact.

For all the times he’s thought he lost Ric forever, can you really blaming him for holding on so tight now?  
No, you can’t. Because he won’t tolerate it. He doesn’t think he deserves much in life, but he deserves this.  
Just a shred of light in is Hell of a life. Or afterlife. Whatever.

Just let Damon Salvatore rest with his hunter. That’s all he really wants.


	2. Damon is Distracting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Turns out grading papers is way harder than usual when your vampire boyfriend is doing everything in his power to distract you.  
> Timeframe: Again, no set time  
> Category: Fluff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayyy attempt number two.  
> Happy, actually-comfortable-in-his-relationship-Damon gives me sm serotonin so I wanna write more (in other words this fic is the beginning of my spiral into the soft-Damon pit so y’all better watch out)  
> That OOC tag is gonna come in real handy once I figure out how exactly to write him

Damon watched Alaric carefully as he worked, tending to all the assignments he’s admittedly a little behind on grading.

It’s not everyday that Mr.Saltzman himself stumbled onto their doorstep.  
Because that usually happens in the middle of the night.

Alaric didn’t wanna spend another day alone grading papers, so he barged into the Salvatore house without hesitation.  
It feels more like home there to him now for a multitude of reasons.  
And those couches do wonders for him. Maybe it’s because Damon is usually lounging on one of them with him, or maybe they’re just as supernatural as the people who occupy the house.  
Probably a mix of both.

Damon, attempting to be a good boyfriend, hauled a table into the living room for Ric to use as he worked.  
He wants him to be comfortable, after all. And Ric is quite the fan of the Salvatore couches, as we’ve established.

Damon wasn’t really helping, though. He was distracting to say the least.  
Just sitting there, laid out across the couch, staring at Ric with such an annoying intensity that it’s getting kinda hard to focus.

So the hunter glanced up to meet that stare, raising a brow at him.  
Damon only smirked at that, winking to try and get whatever point he’s trying to make across.

Ric decided to go back to working.  
He is not gonna let these assignments go another day without his undivided attention. Even if it means ignoring the icy blue gaze that’s now full-on glaring at him.

Damon didn’t appreciate that very much, though.  
He doesn’t like being ignored.

“I never thought I would be jealous of homework.” Damon groaned, and when Ric glanced up again, he noticed that the vampire was now halfway dangling off the couch, still staring at him.

“And I never thought I would be jealous of Elena, but hey, there’s a first time for everything.”   
Despite the fact that the hunter was clearly joking, Damon, oddly enough, felt a slight twinge of guilt.

“What?” The vampire sounded more serious now. Less playful, and more concerned.  
Ric had focused back on the homework by the time Damon spoke again, so he heard more rather than saw Damon sit back up on the couch.  
“Oh, c’mon! Just because I flirt with her doesn’t mean I’m gonna run off with her, Ric.”

No response from the hunter.

Part of Damon wants to blow this all off. Accept the fact that it was probably a joke and move right along to annoying Ric again.  
But then there’s that annoying loud part of him that’s screaming for him to explain himself. Make it right even though he doesn’t really need to.

There was silence for a bit.  
Neither of them did much. Ric wasn’t even grading anything now. He couldn’t focus on it.  
The lack of Damon-snark is actually making him kinda sad now...better turn this around before things get too serious.

“Damon it was just a jo-“  
He cut himself off when Damon was suddenly in front of him, practically in his lap, blocking the hunter from getting to the papers on the table.

“I, your boyfriend, Damon Salvatore-“ He started, moving so he was completely and undeniably on top of Ric, finding his spot in the hunter’s lap rather comfy if he’s being perfectly honest. “-would never leave you, my boyfriend, Alaric Saltzman, for anyone else.”  
He declared it like Ric didn’t already know. But he played along with Damon’s little speech anyways, enjoying this somewhat serious side of the vampire.  
He’s still got that playful Damon tone, but there’s some genuine emotion in there right now.  
“Got it?”

“Gotcha loud and clear.” Ric nodded, not fighting back his smile anymore as Damon grinned.

“Good. Wonderful.” 

...

“Damon?”

“Yeah?”

“You can get off of me now.”

Damon nodded, but judging by how his smirk wasn’t even close to fading, Ric knew he was gonna need to try a little harder if he wants to finish grading anything tonight.  
“I COULD...but...” Damon started, inching closer to Alaric’s lips as he paused. “...I don’t want to.”

Ric sighed in defeat.  
There’s no way he’s getting out of this, is there?

He let Damon moved forward again, pulling him in for a surprisingly slow kiss. It didn’t feel nearly as desperate as the vampire had made it out to be, although that might just be because Damon is all around an over dramatic guy.

It was kinda nice, though.  
A good break from his work, at least. Some good vamp-on-hunter action to keep him from going insane reading what feels like the exact same paper over and over again.

Damon seemed just a bit more adamant about going further, though.  
Ric could feel those vamp hands starting to explore a bit more, and as nice as this all is, he still has work to get done.

He pulled back with some effort, to which Damon made a small annoyed noise.  
He knows Ric is gonna tell him to leave him alone again.  
But how can he leave when he has attention to steal?

Before Ric could speak again, Damon decided what his plan of action should be.

So he shoved Ric back against the couch, keeping his hands on the hunter’s shoulders to keep him pinned.  
This way, Ric can’t try and move him off. It’s the perfect plan. Damon gets his comfortable spot in Ric’s lap, and Ric gets his nice view of is favorite vampire.

At least, that’s how Damon interpreted it.  
Alaric, on the other hand, is still adamant on getting those papers done.

“Damon. No.” Ric 

“Damon yes.” The vampire smirked, 

“Damon I need to work.”

“Work later. I have more needs than...” Damon glance over his shoulder, squinting at the papers scattered on the table.  
“...whoever the hell wrote their name as CTC.”

“Excuse me but Charlie is a good student.” Ric defended his student’s honor, to which Damon scoffed.

“Ohhh so you’re on a first name basis, huh?” The vampire teased

“Damon I swear to-“

“I’m kidding!” Damon threw his hands up in defense, quickly realizing that meant Ric would be able to get up, and promptly putting them back on the hunter’s shoulders.  
“Your students are all weird anyways.”

“You don’t have to be rude, Damon.”

“I’m just stating the obvious. Remember that Noel kid that brings their snake into class with them?”

“Considering I’m their teacher, yes, I do.”  
Ric responded quickly, a little hint of annoyance in there.  
Damon liked that hint. He’s getting his hunter riled up.  
“And you realize I can shove you off, right? I’m not a vampire but I’m still strong.”

“Is that a promise?” Damon asked with a fake-innocent look, to which Alaric rolled his eyes.

“No. It’s a threat. Now get off.”

“What’s the magic word?” Damon’s grin was getting to be a little too much for the hunter, and it only grew as he continued to tease and stall.

Alaric knows what he’s gotta do.

He placed his hands boldly on Damon’s hips, shocking the vampire at the sudden shift.  
“If you don’t get off of me...” Ric started, lowering his voice a tad. “...then this is all you’re getting for today.” He squeezer Damon’s hips a little for emphasis, and earned a betrayed look from his boyfriend for it.

“Alaric Saltzman...You wouldn’t dare...”

“Oh, I would and you know it.”

There was tense silence. Damon’s smirk has completely faded and is now replaced by a pout and half-hearted glare.

“Fine.” The vampire huffed, and Ric removed his hands with a smile.

“Good. Go take a nap or something.”

Damon was off of him in the blink of an eye.  
He expected to see him sulking over on the couch, but there was no trace of him in the room.

Damon...ever the drama queen. He doesn’t get what he wants and throws a fit.

Ric smiles at the thought of Damon in his room pouting because he’s oh-so touch starved, apparently.  
He’ll make it up to him later. Right now, he has work to do.

•

He’s not sure how long he’s been sitting alone like this.  
His eyes are just as worn out as he is from all the reading he’s had to do, and the silence around him is suffocating.

All he can think about is Damon.  
And how he kinda wishes he wouldn’t have forced him to leave.  
He was annoying, sure, but Ric’s never loved being annoyed by anyone as much as Damon.

The feeling of his vampire’s lips is swirling around in his head, and has been since the moment Damon sped away.

And remembering the sensation, while not actually having it, feels much more torturous than anything Damon could have done.

Not to mention that’s getting cold now.  
The sun is set, and although the fire is burning like it always is in the Salvatore house, he still feels chilly.

“Damn it’s cold...” Ric mumbles to himself, rubbing his arms in an attempt to warm himself up.

He’s gotten into a habit of talking whenever nobody is around.  
It’s a little weird, but he can’t help it.  
He’s so used to Damon being with him that even when he’s not, Ric still feels obligated to express whatever he’s feeling.  
And maybe there’s someone on the other side watching, enjoying hearing a living, breathing human’s voice.

Or maybe he’s just insane.

He shivered a little as he finally gave up on the assignments, laying back against the couch in defeat.  
He can’t concentrate, he can’t get warm, and he hasn’t heard anything from Damon for a few hours.  
Great. Just great.

He knows Damon is still in the house. He could hear him walking around upstairs not too long ago.  
He’s half-tempted to go find him. Or huddle down in his bed to warm up.

Or anything other than sitting here, shivering, doing nothing.

He was just about to stand up when he was suddenly blinded, and the sensation of fabric over his head had him in a panic.  
Despite his heart pumping ten times faster now, he remained as clam as possible, tugging whatever was obscuring his view down.

A blanket. It’s just a blanket.

He glanced up to find Damon standing in front of him again, an unreadable look on his face.  
Ric couldn’t help but chuckle a little.

“You were listening to me...” The realization made him feel much warmer already...or maybe that was just the blanket...either way, the fondness in his eyes said it all to the vampire in front of him.

“Yeah yeah...” Damon sighed, plopping down on the couch next to Ric.  
He slung an arm around the hunter, willing himself not to smile as Alaric continued to give him that soft look.  
“Couldn’t have you freezing to death on me. That would’ve been sad. And kinda pathetic.”

Ric just shook his head, leaning in to Damon instinctively now that he was comfortable.  
For a vampire, Damon is pretty nice to snuggle up to. Yeah, he may not radiate as much warmth, but he’s...huggable. In a weird, oddly-cute-yet-intimidating sort of way.

Damon seemed unfazed by Ric leaning on him, just holding him closer to keep him as warm as he could  
If Ric could’ve seen into Damon’s mind in that moment, he would’ve had a much clearer picture of how the vampire actually felt.

If his heart could race, and it wasn’t perpetually going at the speed of a snail, it would probably be exploding right about now.  
Normally Ric would be doing something like this for him instead. He would protest to it, of course, but in the end he craves his hunter’s attention almost as badly as he craves blood.  
But now that the roles are reversed, it’s a little overwhelming.

It’s cute. Incredibly cute.  
And as much as he wants to gush about how adorable it is to somebody like Caroline tomorrow, that’ll make him look like he’s gone soft.  
Nobody can view him as anything less than a threat or else he’ll be in big trouble.

Sure, he’s paving himself a better road now, but that doesn’t mean he wants people to think he’s a weakling.  
He can handle himself.  
He was a stone-cold killer for years!

But oh god is Ric breaking every rule in his book. Tearing down every protective wall Damon has put up around his heart and slowly but surely sucking away his reservations.  
Like a reservation vampire. Draining him until he’s nothing but a soft little lump the hunter’s arms, practically vibrating with need for little kisses and undivided attention.

Wow.  
He’s as bad as some of those lead guys in the novels he’s been reading.  
He’s acting all stupid over the guy he’s fallen for.  
Curse his heightened emotions making him fall for his best friend...

But his best friend is a handsome, adorable, patient idiot who just so happened to spare Damon’s life.  
How could he NOT have fallen for him?

He feels Ric sigh, so he looks down at him for a moment.  
The hunter’s eyes are closed, his head resting comfortably on Damon’s chest as he listened to that slow beat. 

Aaaaand there goes his face feeling like the sun again.  
He must be bright red by now, and he’s vaguely thankful that Ric isn’t looking at him.  
He kind wants him to be looking at him though. He likes those eyes...

Oh shit he’s doing it again, isn’t he? That mushy thing?  
He’s really gotta get that under control...  
Or maybe he doesn’t. Because Ric seems to love it.

And maybe, just maybe, now that he’s finally comfortable dating Ric, he can let his guard down more.

You’ll never know until you try, right?

So he decides to give this soft thing a try, kissing Ric’s hair lightly as the hunter began to drift off in his arms.  
The delighted, sleepy hum of approval he got from it made him want to do it again.  
And again.  
Endlessly.  
Because his impulse control is more than eradicated by now.

So he does just that.  
He let’s his apprehension go and showers Ric in all the affection he can give him.  
And it feels pretty nice to him, too.

Ric usually carries situations like this.  
He’s the one who’s used to this sort of thing. The ‘gentle’ one.  
The one that usually initiates the cuddles or the gentle kisses.

And Damon is trying. Oh is he trying.  
He’s trying his best to figure out how to do that too, but that requires tapping in to some dormant parts of him.

But right now, with Ric so close and nothing stopping them from enjoying each other’s company, he might just be able to do it.

He, Damon Salvatore, is going to give Alaric Saltzman, his beautiful boyfriend, the cuddle-session of his LIFE.  
And he’s not going to freak out about it.

Nope.  
Definitely not gonna freak out.  
Definitelyy.


	3. Don’t Forget About the Vicious Part

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who knew Ric asking his vamp boyfriend if he wanted something to drink would lead into all this fluff?  
> Timeframe: Fricken idk  
> Category: Fluff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by a fic prompt thingy. Started out as a stupid little thing, and as usual it spiraled into me writing way too much about the boys and their thoughts so  
> Sorry not sorry  
> Also sorry for any errors, I finished this at 2:30 AM so yEAH

“Do you need anything to drink?” Ric asked, to which the vampire in his arms shrugged.

“I don’t NEED it, but...” Damon trailed off, voice a little muffled considering he has his face buried in Alaric’s shirt.

“Just tell me what you want.” Ric sighed, smiling a little at just how stubborn the vampire could be.  
He never outright asks for anything. He says it’s because it makes him feel weak or something, but Ric knows he just doesn’t want to be a burden.  
Damon Salvatore is a big teddy bear on the inside, and as much as he’ll deny that claim, the way his eyes light up whenever Ric so much as holds his hand gives it all away.

“Hm...how about...” Damon pondered to himself as Ric wriggled out from under him, much to the vampire’s dismay.  
“Something as dark, mysterious and vicious as I am?” He smirked, acting as if that sentence made any sense to the hunter.

“Sure. Whatever you want, Mr. Dark and Mysterious.” Ric teased, rolling his eyes as he turned away from Damon, heading towards the kitchen to get him the unnecessary drink.

“Don’t forget about the vicious part!” Damon yelled in response even though Ric wasn’t even that far away.  
It still got a chuckle out of the hunter though, so that’s a plus.

Damon huffed when Ric was out of his view, bummed out that he was now all alone on the couch. He could hear Ric in the kitchen, but that only made him want to get up and stand in there with him.  
He wouldn’t help, of course, but he would be there.

On the other hand though, he’s feeling incredibly lazy too. And laziness can out way loneliness when your boyfriend isn’t even that far away.

There’s no denying it by now.  
He likes Ric. A lot. That much should be evident by the fact that they’re dating.  
But he hasn’t dropped the L word yet. It’s not even the fact that he’s scared of it being too soon to use it. Oh no no no.  
He’s terrified of Ric not reciprocating it.

Maybe it’s stupid for him to be so paranoid about something to seemingly small, but to him, it’s big.  
Real big.  
This is the only fully-fledged relationship he’s had in a very long time, and he can’t risk losing it.  
Ric is so...kind to him. Shockingly so for the same guy that wanted to kill him a while back. But even so, he’s sweet. Still a petty jerk at times, but Damon is willing to overlook that the same way Ric has overlooked his countless offenses.

He’s too considerate. Too patient.  
He should despise Damon but instead he cherishes him.  
And that’s way too hard for the vampire to wrap his head around.  
Why him? He could have had anyone. Literally anyone. With his charm, there’s no possible way anyone could say no to him.  
And he picked the vampire with enough baggage to fill an entire airport.

He never said Ric was intelligent on that front.  
He’s handsome, funny, and a downright angel. But he’s an absolute idiot for thinking that this relationship was a good idea.

Damon’s love life can never be good. He came to terms with that a long time ago.  
So now, to suddenly want something to work, and to want to hold on to Ric and never let go, it’s jarring to say the least.

But enough of that for tonight.  
Tonight, he’s going to enjoy himself. And enjoy having Ric here.  
Well, as soon as Ric comes back, that is.  
Which he needs to be doing right now because his boyfriend is in a desperate need of cuddles (and maybe some kisses would be nice too...).

Damon is many things, but patient is not one of them.

“Riiiiiic...” Damon whined, his head thunking against the back of the couch as he dramatically called out for his boyfriend.

“Gimmie a second, Damon!” Ric yells back, sounding a little startled.

Damon was a little alarmed by that tone, but chose not to acknowledge it.  
Ric probably just poured the wrong drink or something.

So he snuggled himself further into the couch, closing his eyes as he waited for the warm feeling of Alaric’s arms around him to finally return.

•

“Don’t forget about the vicious part!” He heard Damon yell behind him, and he couldn’t help but laugh a little.  
He nearly responded, but decided to just keep walking.

He’s a man on a mission here.

He pauses for a moment to consider his options.  
There’s just plain old water, but that’s boring. There’s coffee or tea, but those are kinda time consuming.  
There’s wine...but that’s a little too romantic for tonight. They’re just having a casual night, nothing too big.

And then an idea hit him.  
Oh yeah. That’ll get a fun reaction out of his boyfriend.

With his mind set on a certain beverage, his head starts to wander a little.  
As set as he may be in getting this done, his brain still races around like it’s a kid with way too much sugar in their system.

There’s a lot of things that go through Alaric’s head on a daily basis.  
His job, the kids, whatever supernatural horror is waiting for them all just around the bend...  
And Damon. Especially Damon. Most of his thoughts, even when they’re in a crisis, are of Damon.

Is Damon okay? Is Damon happy? Did Damon remember to bundle up tonight because it’s freezing outside.

Stuff like that.

Damon is endearing to him in a weird, vicious-murder-machine sort of way.  
He looks tiny to Ric.  
Even if their height difference isn’t as bad as it could be, the fact that he can easily pick the vampire up makes hearing his threats ten times less intimidating.  
Unless he’s seriously pissed, in which case Ric can’t exactly say he’s ‘cute’ when he’s like that.

As he grabs a glass out of the cabinet, he delves a little deeper into his thoughts.  
He can multi-task just fine, right?  
Besides, if he messes up, Damon will forgive him.  
He’s a softie like that.

He’s seen nearly all of Damon’s side.  
The ugly ones.  
His anger, stubbornness, and just how brutal he can be when you’ve caught him at the wrong time.  
And the amazing ones.  
His genuine happiness, carefulness, and his utterly irresistible he is when he gets all bouncy and excited.

He’s never seen him cry, though.  
And that’s kinda concerning.

Maybe he should feel grateful that Damon’s emotions haven’t been too out of control recently. After all, less Damon-drama means less dead bodies, right?  
But Ric finds himself more worried about the lack of bodies. And as horrible as he feels for saying that, it’s the truth.

Damon hasn’t lashed out.  
He hasn’t used anything as an outlet and by now things have to be building up.  
He needs to ask him about it. Or something along those lines.  
Just to make sure there hasn’t been too much weighing on those beautiful shoulders of his.

But he should probably focus back on getting this drink before-

“Riiiiiic...” He heard Damon call out from the other room, jumping a little at how suddenly the silence was broken.

“Gimmie a second, Damon!” He hated how jumpy he sounded as he said that. Things catch him off guard way too easily nowadays, much to Damon’s usual amusement.

He shook his head, half in annoyance at himself and half fondly at Damon.  
It didn’t take long for him to finish up in the kitchen, and he briefly wondered if they were going to be sleeping on the couch tonight.  
So far, Damon has shown no interest in moving up to his bed. Even so, after Damon has fallen asleep, Ric will probably carry him up there anyways.

He walked back into the living room to see Damon still sprawled on the couch, eyes closed as he relaxed.  
Ric waited for a second before determining that the vampire must have fallen asleep.  
Which makes that whole ordeal with the drink basically useless, but it’s not a huge deal.

He placed the glass with Damon’s beverage on the side-table next to the couch, kneeling down by the couch that’s currently hosting his sleeping boyfriend.  
He tried to keep himself from doing anything, but...

The sight was just a little too sweet for him.

He brushed a strand of hair that had fallen into Damon’s eyes out of the way, brushing his fingertips over the vampire’s cheek as he lowered his hand again.  
He just stared for a bit. Taking in the view.  
Damon looks peaceful for once. How could he not savor this?

As he stood up, finally done with his admiring, and turned to go find a blanket, he felt a firm grip on his wrist.  
Before he could even blink, he was being tugged down, landing on the couch with a huff.

“Gotcha...” Damon smiled. Not smirked. Smiled.  
Huh. Okay then...  
Alaric felt a a sudden warmth spread through him because of that. Damon’s smirks are nice and all, but his genuine smiles are even better.

“I should’ve known you were baiting me.” Ric sighed, trying to sound annoyed but his affectionate smile was ruining it.

“Yeah. You’re an idiot.” Damon said bluntly, crawling back into Ric’s arms before the hunter could process that insult.  
He hummed happily when he felt Ric’s arms slowly wrap back around him. He’s in THAT headspace again. The one where he truly doesn’t care about preserving his rough image, giving himself over to the affection willingly.  
“My idiot...” He mumbled out, barely audible to the man holding him.

“What was that?” Ric asked, one of his hands moving up into the vampire’s hair to thread through it.

“Nothin’...”

They laid in blissful silence for a bit. Damon taking in every last sensation.  
The warmth. The feeling of Ric’s arms around him, and the fabric of his shirt. Hell, he was even burning the smell into his memory. Ric mixed with the faint smoke from the fire.  
He’s already etched everything about Ric into his memory completely. His voice, his scent, absolutely everything.

For he, Damon Salvatore, is undoubtably deep in the Alaric Saltzman pit. And he never wants to leave it.

As he was about to close his eyes, he remember something:  
“Did you ever get that drink...?” He asked, his tone much quieter than it had been earlier.

“Yeah. It’s on the table.” Ric nodded towards the side table, and Damon strained himself to glance over his shoulder.

A now warm glass of milk sat untouched on the table.  
And Damon felt vaguely offended.

“Milk?” He wasn’t really sure if that was a statement or a question. He’s just confused and a tad bit insulted.

“What? You said you wanted something as dark as your soul.”  
Damon could hear the playful tone in Ric’s voice as he said that, and he turned back around to look at the satisfied smirk plastered on his hunter’s face.

“Are you seriously making fun of me?” Damon questioned, that soft tone having completely vanished.

“Not necessarily. I just don’t think you’re as bad as you think you are.” Ric shrugged.

And that made Damon blush much harder than he anticipated.  
So, naturally, the only logic way to hide it is to bury his face back in Ric’s shirt.  
When Ric chuckled at his actions, it only made the flames building in his face burn brighter.

“For such a ‘viscous vampire’, you’re pretty adorable.” Ric commented, keeping his mock-flirting going to keep Damon softened up for as long as possible.

“Shuddup...” Damon mumbled, gripping at Ric’s shirt as he made a small annoyed-yet-embarrassed noise.

“But you love my voice, don’t you?”

“Ric please stop talking...”

“Make me.”

Damon heard the hint of a challenge in that, and despite his embarrassed state, couldn’t pass up this perfect opportunity. He finally pulled himself out of hiding, staring up at Ric for a moment before he made his move.

He brought a hand up behind Ric’s neck, already feeling the teacher adjusting to compensate for what’s to come.  
Damon was honestly a little nervous. Why? They’ve done this a million times in much more embarrassing settings.  
Maybe it’s the fact that Ric’s gaze is far too gentle to have accompanied that challenging statement. Or maybe it’s his hands. One resting on the vampire’s back as the other remained in his hair.

Whatever it is, it’s making him shake a little. So he wants to get this done quickly.  
Rip the bandaid off, so to speak.

So he pulled Ric forward, slowly to drag it out a bit. Sure, he’s nervous, but he does like being a tease no matter the situation.  
He let their lips brush lightly together at first, not quite making the contact Ric was hoping for.  
But the hunter didn’t rush him. He let Damon linger. And Damon’s subtle plan of trying to get Ric to initiate the kiss instead is getting blown out of the water.

So, with a shaky breath, Damon closed the gap between them.

It was slow. Gentle and almost too perfect for the vampire to believe it was real.  
So simple and yet so good that Damon doesn’t want it to end.  
Ric kisses him like he’s some precious treasure. Delicately and methodically, completely aware of how it’s driving his boyfriend nuts.

This whole ‘precious treasure’ thing extends to almost every aspect of their relationship.  
While their bickering and snarky arguments are still intact, there’s such a tenderness to their bond now.  
Ric treats Damon like he ISN’T a blood sucking monster. Like he deserves to be cherished when Damon himself knows he doesn’t deserve it.

And the gentle, slow kisses like this one never cease to remind him of all the times Ric has told him that he does deserve it.  
That he needs some comfort.  
That Damon Salvatore of all people-er, vampires-needs to be treated with care.

Nobody has given him anything like this before.  
Not Katherine, not Elena. Nobody.  
The assumption that he’s incapable of getting all warm and mushy is almost irritating sometimes.

And he knows he dug is own grave.  
It’s his fault people assume the worse. Because as much as he may try to change, his first impression on his friends will haunt him forever.  
They see him as a ticking time bomb. Just waiting to explode as soon as one thing in his life is moved out of place.

The only handle him with care because they’re afraid he’ll bite their heads off.  
Not Alaric, though.

Ric treats him sweetly because he well and truly believes Damon deserves it.  
Needs it.  
Craves it.  
He holds him and coaxes that dormant, perfectly affectionate side of his boyfriend out because he knows Damon doesn’t like keeping it in all the time.  
He has an act to uphold. He made this horrid image for himself, so now he needs to keep it.  
But when he’s with Ric he just can’t. It melts away wether he wants it to or not.

Everything around them fades.  
The chaos.  
All the death.  
Damon’s uncaring persona.  
It all disappears.

Why does he deserve it? Ric has never been very clear on that.  
He still doesn’t believe he deserves to be pampered. He wants to be. He loved being cherished like this.  
But does he deserve it?  
No. Not in his eyes. He well and truly doesn’t deserve everything Alaric gives him.

He’s vaguely aware of a single tear slipping out at last.  
Just one.  
And Ric thumbs it away, the gesture almost enough to cause more to form in Damon’s eyes.  
He won’t let himself cry, though. Not now.

Ric will probably need to breathe soon, but he’ll wait for a cue from the hunter before breaking away.  
He’s soaking this in. If Ric was a vampire, there’s no way he’d ever let their lips detach.

They’re locked together, Damon breathing much more heavily than Ric much to their surprise.  
The hand on the vampire’s back has begun rubbing gently up and down, soothing Damon’s mild heart attack that he’s on the brink of having.

Neither of them can really think clearly right now.   
Damon’s previously wandering mind has gone complete blank. It’s all just sensations and small, uncontrollable noises now.

When Ric finally pulls back, Damon nearly whined in disappointment, but managed to hold back.  
The hunter felt dizzy. A good kinda of dizzy, but he had to close his eyes again soon after opening them to keep from getting too nauseous.

When he opened his eyes again, he was met with Damon’s piercingly blue ones still staring at him.  
He offers him a gentle smile, causing Damon to break their eye contact, staring down sheepishly.

“You’re blushing, hot stuff.” Ric teased, and Damon actually chucked a little.

“How observant of you.” Damon teased back, still sounding a little breathless. Funny how he sounds more worn out from that than Ric, considering he doesn’t even need to breathe.

The conversation didn’t continue after that. Damon resumed his original position, laying his head on Ric’s chest, enjoying the sound of his heartbeat.  
He could feel Ric looking at him, but he didn’t mention it.  
It’s a comforting sort of stare. Like he’s being watched over by an ex-history teacher angel or something.

“Beautiful...” Ric murmured softly, still running a hand through Damon’s hair.  
Damon shivered a little at the sudden compliment. That never ceases to catch him off guard...

Damon could feel himself starting to doze a little.  
The warmth and the safety that comes with being in Ric’s arms makes him extremely sleepy as well.  
He closed his eyes, sighing as Ric kissed the top of his head gently.

He was overcome by sleep eventually, blissfully unaware of anything that could possibly go wrong for the rest of the night.

Ric watched him for a bit. Admiring how serene Damon looked. The rise and fall of his chest.  
So peaceful in comparison to how he usually is. Who knew the hyperactive, snarky, punk vampire could sleep like an angel?

His eyes caught something else, though. And his lips quirked up into a smile again when he saw it.

The glass of milk. Still untouched.  
He’ll have to drink it himself later.

•

Damon woke to find himself tucked snuggly into his bed, no longer resting on top of Ric on the couch.  
In fact, there’s no sign of Ric at all.

He sighs, closing his eyes again as he tries to move further into the mattress.  
It’s not like Ric to just leave, but he probably had a good reason to.  
Either that, or Damon nearly having a breakdown during their kiss last night drove him off.

He sincerely hopes it’s the first one.

He glanced at his window.  
It’s still dark out. It’s either really late or really early.  
Okay, then that settles it. He’s going back to sleep.

But then he hears footsteps. And the soft sound of his floor creaking.  
He tenses, suddenly on edge but he needs to play the sleep card for his own benefit.

He eases a bit when there’s no sudden attack. Instead, he feels the covers lift next to him.  
He completely melts when he feels those familiar, strong arms wrap around him, pulling him slowly towards his boyfriend’s chest.

Ric buries his face in the vampire’s shoulder, breathing deeply as he takes in Damon in his entirety.  
Much like how the vampire had absorbed their moment earlier.

Damon couldn’t help but sigh when Ric nuzzled his shoulder a little, squeezing his boyfriend just a tad.

“You awake?” The hunter asks, voice soft and low, partially from his drowsiness but also a precaution in case Damon is still sleeping.

“Yeah...” Damon mumbles back, voice still laced with sleepiness and Ric chuckles a little when he hears it.  
Judging by that though, Damon won’t be awake much longer, so he needs to get tis moving along.

“Can I tell you something...? Before you drift off again?”

“Shoot...” One word responses. A classic tired-Damon response. It’s either short and simple or long, drawn-out flirting with no in between.  
He feels Ric tuck a stray piece of hair behind his ear, and hums at the touch.

“I’ve been thinking about saying this for a while and uh...” Ric suddenly felt nervous. A little apprehensive now that he’s actually gonna do this.  
He shakes off his reservations, shaking a little as he takes in a confident breath.  
“Damon I...”

He stops when he sees Damon’s eyes have closed again. And judging by his lack of snarky remarks at Ric’s silence, he’s fast asleep yet again.

“Tomorrow, then...” Ric mumbled, smiling against Damon’s shoulder as he too began to feel the exhaustion kicking in again.

He’ll get around to finishing that thought, though.  
He’ll probably stumble his way through it at breakfast tomorrow. Or lunch. Or dinner. Depending on how much he procrastinates.

Before he loses himself to the realm of sleep yet again, he decides to mouth those three little words against Damon’s skin, just for practice.

‘I love you.’


	4. Interrupted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is why you don’t tell your vampire boyfriend where your classroom is.  
> Timeframe: S6 maybe idk  
> Category: Fluff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO  
> If you’re wondering who these new characters are, they’re basically just inserts of me and some of my friends who I love v much and have been supporting and putting up with my writing for a while now.  
> Idk how often I’ll include them, or if they’ll even appear in anymore of the Dalaric oneshots at all, but they’re part of the AU I’m developing (which these little fics are based in) so they gonna be existing in the background

Ric was startled when he heard a knock on the classroom door.  
He’s a little jumpy considering everything he’s been through, and the fact that knocks are usually accompanied by an onslaught of questions or an awkward conversation, he can’t blame himself for being paranoid.

He relaxed, however, when he saw who was standing in the doorway.

“Wow. You look hot in a vest, Ric.” Damon half-teased, but somewhat meant it.  
Alaric, having forgotten to wash any of his ‘work shirts’ last night, had to resort to wearing an old sweater vest he’d thought he had had burned to look somewhat presentable.

Apparently the vest is a turn on to a certain vampire, but even so, Ric hates it with a passion.

“And you look...” Ric paused, giving Damon a quick once over as a slowly smile intruded, wiping away his previously bored and mildly startled look. “...well you look like you, that’s for sure.”

“I’m gonna take that as a compliment.” Damon was already moving in towards Ric, and the hunter was silently preparing himself to be pounced on by the vamp.  
Nothing happened, though. Damon just stood next to him, staring at him with a smirk.

“What?” Ric finally asked after he had enough of Damon’s uncharacteristic silence.

“Nothing. Just...thinking.” Damon had THAT tone. The one that told Alaric that he had some new, probably weird idea buzzing around in that beautiful mind of his.

“If you’re thinking about ripping the vest off, I’ll warn you right now...” Ric started, and Damon’s smirk told him all he needed to know. “...don’t. Later? Sure. Tear it to shreds. I hate it anyways.”

“But it looks good on you.” Damon protested, which actually surprised Ric a bit. “I wasn’t thinking about THAT. I just...” He bit his lip as he trailed off, tearing his eyes away from Ric for a second.  
“Never mind.”

“Don’t be a tease, Damon.” Ric pushed the issue a bit, causing Damon’s eyes to snap their focus back on the teacher. “You’ve intrigued me.”

“I’ll tell you later.”

“Why not now?”

“Because it’s stupid.”

“Damon.” Ric’s tone was a little firmer this time, and Damon suddenly felt that even if he wanted to he wouldn’t be able to walk away now.  
“Just tell me.”

The vampire’s mouth moved for a bit, as if he wanted to say something but no sound accompanied it.  
Eventually, after enough internal panicking and considering if Ric could get in trouble for getting down and dirty in the classroom, Damon found his words again.

“Can we get dinner tonight?” He blurted it out, quickly and with a slightly higher tone that usual.  
That high tone either meant he was being snarky, passive-aggressive, or he’s incredibly nervous.  
Alaric was willing to bet it was the last option.

“Of course.” Ric responded almost as quickly as Damon had made the offer.

There was a silence that hung for a bit as they just...stared.  
They both looked equally embarrassed at how they had handled that whole situation, but neither of them were able to look away from the other.

And then Damon let out a light snicker.  
Causing Alaric to do the dame.  
What followed was a fit of uncontrolled laughter that burst out of them both, and the tense air quickly faded.

Ric managed to calm down first, mostly because he wanted to hear Damon’s laughter without his own voice blocking it out.  
He rarely hears Damon laugh like this. Usually he makes nothing more than a chuckle or the noise is laced with bitterness or disbelief.

Not this time, though.  
Damon is laughing. Hard. So hard that he’s nearly crying and Ric just admired the sight.  
The mix of Damon’s beautiful, genuine smile and that gorgeous noise had the hunter’s heart doing weird things.

When Damon began to calm down as well, he noticed his boyfriend’s fond stare, and couldn’t stop the blush that crept up onto his cheeks because of it.  
It’s definitely because he laughed and showed genuine emotion and not at all because of how soft Ric’s eyes are. Or how welcoming that smile is. Or how he’s fricken gorgeous from head to toe and it’s driving the vampire mad.  
Definitely just because the whole emotions thing.

Ric opened his mouth to speak, maybe to flirt or maybe to start up another conversation, but he never got to finish his thought.  
Damon tugged him forward, roping him in to a kiss he didn’t even realize he needed until now.  
All the stress building up made him forget how relieving it is to have those beautiful vampire lips against his own.

The back of his legs eventually hit the desk, and he decided to take matters into his own hands here.  
He flipped them around, earning a small surprised noise from Damon. He hooked his arms under the vampire’s legs, hoisting him up and sitting him on the desk, never breaking contact as he chased the relief relentlessly.

“Come on up, Ric...” Damon managed out when Ric had to pull away to catch his breath.  
“The desk is...well, fine. Not exactly comfortable but-“ His train of thought was cut off by an embarrassingly loud yelp when Ric picked him up again.  
This time, the hunter was the one on the desk, scooting up as far as he could for as much comfort as possible. Damon didn’t mind the position swap, in all honesty. Being in Ric’s lap is pretty much his part-time job at this point.

There was no possible way anyone would find them, right?  
Ric’s class ended quite a while ago, and there’s no reason for anyone else to be hanging out in here.

They didn’t dare risk much more than kissing here in the classroom, though. On the off chance someone did walk in, and happened to catch Ric and his somewhat-secret boyfriend getting funky behind the desk, it wouldn’t end well.

He hasn’t told anyone at the college about his relationship status yet.  
He doesn’t feel he needs to.  
While there are a few particular groups in his class that he’s fond of, it’s still none of their business what their professor is doing outside of teaching.  
None of the other teachers know, either. Again, they really don’t need to.

The only people he’s told are their immediate...friend group? Is that the phrase? Whatever you’d call them.  
You know...Elena, Stefen, Caroline...pretty much everyone aside from Tyler, but he’s probably already found out because of Matt or Jeremy.

But to everyone outside their little circle? Professor Saltzman is completely available. Which, in all honesty, makes things a little bit awkward when one of Elena’s teachers is trying to flirt with him twenty-four-seven.  
Damon isn’t very fond of Jo because of that. All he wants to do whenever she’s around is make out with Ric to prove his point, but his timing is absolute garbage, and he’s never had a run-in with the doctor who’s determined to steal his man.

Ric thinks she’s nice. A good friend, maybe.  
He’s not stupid. He knows she likes him. But maybe she’ll have to be the first person he tells about he and Damon’s not-so-little-anymore-thing.

For now though, Jo isn’t here.  
None of Alaric’s students are here and nobody is around to bother them in general.

Despite how eager their little session had started, it’s slowly melted back into that slow, tender form.  
Their own little slice of peace and their royally messed up lives.  
To Damon, it feels safe. Like a warm embrace holding him together when all he wants to do is fall apart.  
To Alaric, it’s reassuring. Knowing that he’s not alone, that he’s loved, and that above all else, Damon is still completely infatuated with him.

It feels like heaven.  
And this amazing feeling is only amplified by the fact that they don’t have to worry about anyone catching them.  
Not Elena, not Stefen. Nobody. It’s only them.

Reluctantly, the hunter had to pull away again, feeling mere inches away from passing out but he’s never felt more alive.  
Damon, of course, gave a disappointed whine at the loss, but Ric knows his vampire can’t exactly help those noises anymore.

“I think I might have developed an addiction...” Ric mumbled, still a little dazed.

“Ric, I think we’re far past admitting that we’re alcoholics.” Damon joked, sounding breathless despite not really needing to breathe in the first place.

“You know I’m not talking about that, Damon.” Ric chuckled, pecking Damon on the lips quickly.  
“I think I’ll go crazy if I ever have to go a day without these...” He murmured as he traced a finger over Damon’s lips, earning a soft, mildly flustered chuckle from the vampire.

“Well hopefully you won’t ever have to.” Damon is smirking, but there’s a genuine sincerity to his voice that makes Ric feel even warmer than he already had.

“Wow. That was actually kinda sweet.” Ric smiled softly, almost regretting saying anything when Damon reverted back to his snarky coverup.

“Screw you.”

“Later.”

They just stared at each other for a bit.  
Originally because Damon was trying-and failing-to process a good comeback, but eventually it became a battle of will.  
Who will lean in again first? Nobody knows.  
And Damon was about to settle this battle once and for all.

He leaned in, letting himself linger in front of the teacher’s lips for a moment before diving in.  
Ric remained motionless, not even realizing he was holding his breath as Damon continued to be a tease as always...

They were, however, interrupted by the sound of the door suddenly opening.  
Damon forgot to lock it on his way in. That should probably be a habit by now, but he’s still adjusting to this whole...committed and loving relationship thing.

“I uh...” A student, which Damon happened to recognize as ‘the Green Day kid’, who’s actual name was Charlie or CTC for short, just stood there.  
“Professor Saltzman? I forgot to turn in my uh...” They were at a bit of a loss for words considering the uh...sight...in front of them.

Damon sighed, giving Alaric an annoyed look as the teacher put on his best ‘professional responsible adult’ face.  
“Just put it on my desk.” He laughed nervously a bit after he said that, still refusing to let go of Damon.

“I would but...” CTC gestured to the desk, which caused Ric to look down in confusion.  
Oh.  
Right.  
Him and Damon are ON the desk. That makes sense.

“Oh right.” Ric cleared his throat, patting Damon’s back to signal for him to move.  
He didn’t.

“What?” Damon put on his best innocent voice, looking up at Ric like he had no idea what was being asked of him.

“I can just...go...” CTC said slowly, shuffling back to head out the door again.

“That’s probably a good idea.” Damon answered them before Ric could get a word in, earning a nervous smile from the student as the door slammed closed.  
Damon turned his attention back to the now much less dazed teacher.  
“Well that was fun.”

“We could’ve just moved, you know...” Ric sighed, but didn’t remove his hands from the vampire, if anything he let his arms circle more firmly around him again.

“But what would be the fun in that?” Damon whispered, suddenly extremely close to Ric’s ear and the teacher couldn’t hold back a chuckle.

“This is exactly why I don’t bring you to work with me.”

“Which is exactly why I, without your permission or knowledge, barged in anyways.” Damon replied with that smirk still plastered on his face.  
Ric couldn’t help but feel a little honored by that. It’s not every day that Damon Salvatore comes unannounced into your classroom to make out with you.

“Just shut up and kiss me before I decide to kick you out.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice, Ric...”

•

By the time they returned to their dorm, CTC was mortified and frankly ready to just keel over and die.

“What’s up with you?” Soph asked from his bed, turning his attention from his sketchbook to CTC.

“I have seen some shit.” They sighed as they flopped down onto their bed, getting a curious look from their roommate.

“Do I even wanna know?”

“No. Not really.”

The silence hung for a bit, not even the sound of Soph’s pencil moving filled it anymore.

“You do realize that when Noel gets home she’s not gonna stop until you tell her, right?” Soph wasn’t looking at CTC, instead focusing his attention back on his sketchbook, briefly considering turning his music back up before CTC spoke again.

“Trust me, I know.” They groaned, face still buried in their pillow to avoid looking at their roommate.  
“Please tell me you at least had a decent day?”

“Mine was splendid, actually.” Soph had that ‘I FaceTimed with my long-distance girlfriend for like five hours and didn’t get anything else done’ tone in his voice.  
Despite then being scarred for life, CTC smiled a little.

“Good. At least one of us isn’t going to have nightmares tonight.”

“Eh. No guarantee I won’t still wake up screaming either.” Soph shrugged, putting his sketchbook and pencil down as he got up.  
“Want something to drink?”

“I’m starving.”

That was all the cue Soph needed to grab a blood bag out of their stash along with his soda, tossing the bag to CTC, who caught it with ease despite not actually seeing it.

Their little circle isn’t perfect by any means. It’s a mess, actually.  
Just three alphabet mafia idiots and their snake.  
But it’s home. And they’re all the family they got. So they stick together despite how utterly screwed up their lives may be.

If only they knew about professor Saltzman’s boyfriend’s.  
If only they had a vampire guardian here to help them through their rough patches.  
If only...

And maybe, just maybe, they’ll get to meet the fabled Damon Salvatore one day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t kill me I know this one is really stupid   
> Also I finished this at 4 AM  
> I’m tired  
> Help


	5. The L Word

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What should’ve been a normal morning at the Salvatore house goes downhill very quickly.  
> Timeframe: Idk  
> Category: Fluff/angst

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So  
> I really wanted to write some angsty Damon hours but since the show is already v heavy with the Damon abuse I decided to just shove some crying vamp boy into this fic instead  
> Anyways enjoy this badly written, mildly vent-y thing

Ric’s usual morning routine is always thrown off whenever he spends the night with Damon. For many, many reasons.  
First and foremost, different house, different layout. Things don’t run as smoothly as they do normally and he nearly got lost in the hallways one time.  
The second, and more obvious, is that he’s got Damon Salvatore sharing a bed with him. And when he and Damon wake up at the same time, there’s a good chance neither of them will be getting out of bed for another hour or so.

Luckily, or unluckily, whichever way you wanna view it, Ric managed to sneak out of bed without alerting the vampire.  
He didn’t bother checking the time. Usually Stefan is gone by the time they wake up anyways, so he’s not that worried.  
And with his lack of care, he decided not to throw a shirt on either. Call it laziness or just being comfortable walking around half naked in his boyfriend’s house, but Ric just doesn’t feel like wearing one this morning.

As he made his way downstairs to go grab some breakfast, the lack of any noise further proved his hunch that Stefan wasn’t here.  
Good. The last thing he’d probably wanna see is his brother’s occult-studies-professor boyfriend shirtless in their kitchen.

He’s not necessarily scared of Stefan. Aside from the obvious fact that he’s a vampire that could snap Alaric in half if he wanted to, the whole ‘protective little brother’ thing never bothered him that much.  
It’s more of embarrassment of accidentally traumatizing Damon’s little brother that gets him worried. The only person as of now who willingly wants to see Ric shirtless is Damon, and the hunter plans to keep it that way.

He didn’t pay much attention to his surroundings when he finally got to the kitchen, grabbing a glass of water since alcohol this early doesn’t sound like a good idea.  
He‘s still half-asleep, and once he’s done here, he’ll probably go back to bed until Damon wakes. In his sleep-deprived mind, there was absolutely no possible way this morning could go wrong.

He was vaguely aware of footsteps heading towards the kitchen, which he just assumed were Damon’s. So, thinking it was his boyfriend who was about to approach him, he didn’t even attempt to cover himself up.

“Hey Damon have you seen my-“

The separate realizations seemed to hit both of them at the exact same time.  
Ric, realizing that voice belonged not to his lover, but to Stefan, promptly had a mini heart-attack.  
And Stefan, realizing that this wasn’t his brother but instead Alaric, quickly stopped himself mid-sentence and turned around.

“Hey Ric.” The vampire said as nonchalantly as he could, clearing his throat as he refused to look back in the other direction.

“Hey...” Alaric said slowly, already planning his escape route so he could dip before things got too awkward.  
“I thought you were gone?”

“I was just about to head out, actually.” Stefan laughed a little, clearly uncomfortable with everything about this whole situation and Ric can’t say he feels any differently.

“Oh. Guess I should’ve waited, then.”

The silence lingered for a bit, neither of them moving an inch as if the slightest flinch would set the world on fire or something.

Stefan finally worked up the courage to turn around and face Ric, that signature ‘I’m not sure how to react to this and I’m very uncomfortable’ smile on his face.  
“So it sounded like you and Damon had a lot of-“

“Yup.” Ric interjected before Stefan could finish, not really wanting to get into the details of their personal matters with Stefan of all people.  
There was an awkward silence again, but it didn’t last nearly as long.

“He’s much happier now, you know.” Stefan’s tone shifted, catching Ric off guard at how appreciative it sounds now.  
“The happiest I’ve seen him in a long time, actually.”

“Really?” Ric couldn’t help but smile at that.  
He knows Damon has had this different aura to him ever since they started dating. Little sparks of excitement and genuine, unfiltered happiness that he didn’t seem to show before.  
And Ric felt pretty proud for being the cause of those new, precious moments.

“Really.” Stefan’s smile also changed to a more genuine one.  
“Only downside is, he won’t shut up about you.”  
They both chuckled a little at that, and the tension around them seemed to have lifted a little.

“Do I even wanna know what he says about me?”

“Oh, you know, the usual.” Stefan didn’t continue, which led to Ric raising a curious brow at him. The vampire, despite thinking that maybe spilling his conversations with Damon will get his neck snapped later, decided not to pass up this opportunity.  
“He rambles about what you two did that day, how horrible you are at pool-“  
Ric cringed a little at that. As much as he insisted ‘he was only had because he was drunk’, he and Damon both know he just straight up sucks at it.  
“-and how much he...” Stefan trailed off, realizing at the last minute that Damon probably wouldn’t be comfortable with him saying that in the slightest.

“How much he what?” Ric asked, hoping for a continuation.  
Stefan chewed his lip, staring at the floor and silently cursing himself for even starting that last thought.  
“Stefan? What were you gonna-“

“Are we having a party down here?” A familiar voice suddenly chimed in, and Ric couldn’t fight off his fond smile when he saw Damon emerge behind Stefan.  
Damon’s eyes were locked on Ric, never once breaking to look at his brother.  
When his usual smirk broke out in full-force, Ric shivered a little.  
“Stefan? Leave. The adults need to have a little chat...”

“Gladly.”  
Stefan sped away without another word, leaving Ric at the mercy of his boyfriend.  
And judging by the look he was getting from the vampire, mercy isn’t an option.

“Damon. No.” Ric held a hand out as if that was going to protect him from the vamp-assault he was anticipating.  
Damon frowned a little, but his smirk reappeared as he slowly started making his way over to Ric as he eyed the hunter’s-less-than-clothed chest.

“What? You’ve never had a problem with this before...” Damon leaned against the counter, eyes flicking up to meet Ric’s.

“Once Stefan is gone, then I won’t mind.” Ric stated, firm in what he wants and that all-too-sure tone made Damon whine with annoyance.

“Oh c’mon! How many times has he brought Caroline over and not cared?” Damon tried to persuade his boyfriend, but Ric didn’t budge.

“Exactly. Which is why we are being the responsible ones and NOT doing that.” Ric stared for the sink so he could clean his now empty glass, but stopped when he felt Damon’s hand gently brush over his own.

“Being responsible is hard though...” Damon mumbled, a little distracted by Ric intertwining their hands.  
The small smile he didn’t even realize he made had Ric’s heart doing that fluttery thing again.

“Well I’m sure for you it would be.” Ric teases half-heartedly, not really wanting to mesh their usual snarky arguments with this sweet moment.

“Are you seriously insulting me right now, Ric?” Damon asked, feigning offense but his smile conveyed nothing but adoration for the man in front on him.

“Maybe...”

They stood like that for a bit. Not really doing much aside from staring at their connected hands and occasionally looking up at each other.  
Damon, unsurprisingly, was usually the one to break eye contact first when he started blushing to hard.  
Even when Damon wasn’t looking however, Ric would still let his gaze linger on the vampire’s features for a bit.

It’s funny how the context in which someone sees Damon can change their entire outlook on that face.  
To some, they see nothing but a brutal, irredeemable monster.  
To others, they see a scared, vulnerable little boy that’s perfect for abusing and molding to their own will.  
And to Ric, well...  
He sees Damon Salvatore. Just Damon. No fancy adjectives or roundabout way of explaining it.  
He just sees the love of his life.

When Ric loves, he puts his entire soul into it. He gets so unbelievably far into his love for them that if anything were to happen to them, it would take him ages to be completely over it.  
And when Damon loves, he loves with every fiber of his being. He loves until it consumes him completely and he would go through Hell for that person.

And Ric is sure that he’s reached that point with Damon. He’s fallen so far and so hard that crawling back out of it would be virtually impossible.

But he’s not sure where Damon stands. He’s hoping and practically praying that the vampire feels the same, but with how little Damon opens up, it’s hard to to tell.  
But he can see those walls breaking down. Especially now.  
He’s letting Alaric in and that has to be a sign that he’s just as in love as Ric is, right?

When Damon squeezes his hand gently, tugging him closer, it’s like the vampire had read his mind.  
Like this was his way of reassuring Ric that, yes, he’s fallen for him too.

“Hey Ric?” Damon suddenly spoke again, his voice much softer than it usually is.  
The sound is a little strange to even Damon. It reminds him of how he used to be, back before he turned.  
His soft-spoken, gentle self that he tried to bury for the longest time.  
And now it’s slipping through again. Breaking out of the cage he thought he locked in it and honestly? He doesn’t really mind.

“Yeah?” Ric answered with an equally gentle tone, if not for the slight quiver in his voice.  
It does that sometimes when he’s nervous. Or when he’s so damn lost in Damon’s eyes that he feels like crying.  
How he ended up with Damon? He’s still not sure. But it feels like an honor in a weird way. Even if Damon’s track record would suggest a less-than-honorable past.

“I l-l...” Damon started, stopped, and then started again, but couldn’t seem to get it out.  
“L-lo...” He’s struggling. Oh how he’s struggling and Ric just watches with an affectionate smile and quirked brow.

“What was that? Didn’t catch it.”

“Damn it shut up...I’m trying my best here, okay?” The hint of aggression was back in his voice, but Ric noted the way it shook a little, much like his own voice had a little bit ago.  
Damon is getting worked up. Not because he’s actually mad, but for a multitude of other reasons which may or may not include Alaric.  
“I lo...I-“

Damon’s struggling was put to rest by Ric’s lips, pressing gently against his to end his mild suffering.  
When Ric pulled back, he brought a hand up to cup Damon’s cheek, making the vampire shiver a little.

“It’s okay. If you’re not ready yet that’s fine.” That understanding tone in Alaric’s voice made Damon feel even more guilty.  
He’s such an idiot.  
How can he not get something as simple as...well...THAT phrase right?  
Such an idiot...  
“Don’t say that. You’re not an idiot. Not right now, at least.”

Huh? Did he say that out loud? Oh shit he must’ve said it out loud...  
He wants to brush it off, but he can’t. Not with Ric staring at him like he’s the center of the universe.

“You don’t have to sugar-coat it, Ric.” He sighed, grabbing Ric’s hand as if to tug it down but his boyfriend wouldn’t allow that.  
“I know what I am.”

“See the thing is...” Ric leaned in again, teasingly close to Damon’s lips again. “...you really don’t.”

“What am I then...?” Damon was trembling just a bit now, a little afraid of what Ric would say next.  
Ric has this weird way of making Damon sound breathless despite him being, oh, I don’t know, a VAMPIRE.  
Yeah, he breathes. And yeah, he functions pretty much exactly like a human does aside from a few little details.  
But he doesn’t NEED to breathe, necessarily. If he were to die because he just forgot to breathe in his sleep, it’s not like he would be gone forever anyways.  
But there’s no denying that Ric taking his breath away has some side effects.

“Well, for starters...you’re Stefan’s brother.” Ric started out simply, pecking Damon quickly on the lips before continuing.  
“...a pretty good vampire, in my opinion...” He let his hand fall from Damon’s face, wrapping it instead around his waist as he pulling him even closer.  
“...an amazing son...” Damon scoffed a little at that one, but that didn’t deter Ric. “...and...”

“And?” Damon asked impatiently when Ric paused.  
The hunter crooked a finger up under Damon’s chin, for no real reason other than to add to the moment since the vampire was already looking up at him.  
He leaned forward, placing a gentle kiss in Damon’s lips once again before he continued.

“And a stunning...” He leaned in towards Damon’s ear this time, kissing it softly. “...brilliant....” He started trailing the kisses down Damon’s jaw, and he could feel Damon’s trembling getting more violent by the minute. “...reckless...” He moved his affection this time to Damon’s neck, smiling as he was finally reaching his conclusion.  
“...wonderful boyfriend.”

Damon let out something that was between a laugh and a wheeze at that, causing Ric to pull away just to look at him.

“Who just so happens to be the love of my life.” Ric added a bit after he had supposedly finished, smiling down at the now overly-emotional vampire.

“...Can you say that again please? I don’t think I caught it the first time.” Damon’s voice was shaking again, matching his trembling form. Ric could see the tears pricking at the corners of Damon’s eyes, and placing a prepared hand on his cheek as he waited for them to fall.

“I love you, Damon.”

That’s what broke it.  
That’s what sent the floodgates bursting open, allowing Ric to finally wipe away the tears he’s been anticipating. As he thumbed them away, Damon would only cry harder, hands suddenly curled in Ric’s shirt as he clung to him.

“Why?” Damon choked out, and Ric could only give him a confused look.  
“Why? Actually, scratch that, how? How could you love ME!?” He’s yelling, but he’s not quite sure where that aggression came from.  
He’s not pulling away or fleeing from the affection either, though. Deep down he wants it. Needs it. But does he even deserve it?

“Damon...” Ric’s tone was still so soft, and contrasted with the now nearly sobbing vampire’s voice too much.

“No. Don’t ‘Damon’ me. Answer me, Ric! Damnit just answer me!” He finally shoved Alaric away, and the pang of guilt that surged through him when Ric gave him that confused look.  
“Please...” He whispered out soon after, feeling like he was about to collapse. He wishes he could be like Ric. That he could give and receive stuff like this so easily but of course, he’s Damon. And Damon doesn’t do love. He’s not supposed to. He’s a monster. He’s-

His brain all but shut down when Ric pulled him in a again, laying Damon’s head against his chest as he wrapped his arms carefully around the vampire.  
He can hear Ric’s heartbeat.  
The still calm, gentle rhythm.  
And he relaxed a little despite his previous outburst, freezing in Alaric’s arms.

And then everything broke out.  
Not just the tears this time, but everything. His emotions, his sobs, the pent up swell inside of him that’s been eating away at his heart for the past decades.  
It all came bubbling up and exploded into one, loud, strangled sob.

“I’m sorry...” Damon choked out. He’s clutching Ric’s shirt again, but he doesn’t cares  
He needs this. And he’s gonna let himself have it for once.

“Shh...it’s okay...” Ric soothed, rubbing a comforting hand up and down Damon’s back slowly.  
His other hand, while still on the back of the vampire’s hand, he used to thread through Damon’s hair. Damon loves that feeling. It makes him feel secure. And Alaric knows that.

“Don’t leave...please...” Damon whimpered, too vulnerable for his own good.  
Ric just blinked for a second at how...different this all felt.  
Damon. Crying. Begging for Ric to stay and clinging to him.

God today has been such a weird day...

“I don’t ever plan to...” Ric finally responded, and Damon just nodded, burying himself further into his lover as Ric held on as tight as he could.

Neither of them were aware of Stefan listening in to the entire exchange, conflicted between either being proud of Damon or upset that he didn’t comfort his brother sooner.

•

After Damon had finally settled down, eventually having gone entirely limp in Ric’s arms, the hunter had decided to carry the vampire back up to bed.

A few minutes after Damon realized he was now back in his bedroom, he started responding again, curling up into Ric who had decided to slip into bed next to him.

“You okay?” Ric asked softly, running his fingers through Damon’s hair again.  
Damon just shrugged.

“Been better. Been worse.” He responded vaguely, humming happily when Ric kissed the top of his head.

“I’ve never seen you cry like that before...” Ric mumbled, not sure if he actually wanted Damon to respond to that or not.

“Well there’s a first time for everything.”

They laid in silence after that, the both of them suddenly feeling their exhaustion settling in.  
After Damon’s breakdown, neither of them really plan on doing much today.  
The only thing Ric wants to do is shower his boyfriend in as much love and affection as he can. Hold him and tell him that he’s perfect in every way, even if some would heavily disagree with that statement.

“Ric?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

That one word made Ric’s heart jump a little.  
It wasn’t a ‘thanks for earlier’ or a ‘thanks for dealing with me’.  
It’s just one word. A general thing. Something that applies to nothing and everything at the same time.  
Maybe he’s reading too far into it, but it sure seems like Damon’s way of saying ‘I love you’ without actually saying it.

“Anytime, gorgeous.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I couldn’t figure out what to put at the end  
> And I feel like Ric would call Damon gorgeous idk anYWAYS-  
> I just really like soft Damon content aight be deserved some comfort too give vamp mans some cuddles please


	6. Chained

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damon’s having a rough time after being released from the Phoenix stone.  
> But maybe a special visit from his favorite person can ease some of that pain.  
> Timeframe: S7  
> Category: Angst/fluff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi I wrote this in like two hours because I had a sudden surge of inspiration for it so have it in all it’s messy glory  
> ALSO Y’ALL THE SUPPORT ON THIS MAKES ME SO HAPPY A A A JUST 🥺💖💜💖

He’s still half out of it. Tired, sore, guilty... and did he mention tired? Because he’s exhausted. Absolutely ready to hibernate but every time he dozed off all he gets is a flash of pain and misery.  
Constant reminders that he’s a monster.  
And being chained up isn’t exactly helping his mental state right about now.

But it’s for the best. Because he’ll lash out again if they don’t keep him like this.  
Damon Salvatore...always the one to cause trouble. Even if said trouble wasn’t even his own fault. But he takes the brunt of the blame anyways.  
Because that’s what he does.  
That’s his purpose or whatever.

Does he even have a purpose? Probably not actually.  
He’s a mistake. All that ‘everyone has a part to play’ crap is nothing more than a way to make people like him feel good.  
He brings nothing but destruction and misery wherever he goes, so why even bother?

He knows the answer to that too, actually.  
Because he’s stupid.  
Stupidly in love and as much as he would love to drive a stake through his own heart, the idea of upsetting the one he loves most hurts like hell.

It’s not like he needs to sleep. He’s a vampire. But once you get in the habit of using sleep to relieve stress, you start craving it more and more.  
Still though, he’s so tired...and maybe, by some magical chance, he could fall asleep this time and not be plagued with visions and nightmares.  
Yeah. Maybe...

•

He woke up screaming.  
Thrashing around and he’s vaguely aware of someone yelling.  
Probably Stefan.  
He doesn’t really pay attention to that though.

He feels like he’s on fire.  
Burning the way he deserves to burn and no matter what he does he can’t put the flames out.

But he deserves this, right?  
This is what’s inevitably waiting for him when his life finally comes to it’s long overdo end.  
This is just a the trial run to all that.

Suddenly though, the burning stops.  
He stops yelling and stops trying to fight at his chains, relaxing for some reason that he hasn’t been able to place yet.

There’s hands on his shoulders.  
Reassuring, calming, settling hands keeping him from wriggling around anymore. The warmth that he feels from them is much more soothing than that of the flames that are long gone.

“...Damon?”

He knows that voice.  
But he doesn’t know who it’s coming from. Or where it’s coming from.  
He can barely see anything from how cloudy his vision is and he thinks it’s right in front of him, but it could be anywhere.

He passes out before he gets a chance to think about it any further.

•

He wakes again, but not due to any hallucinations or nightmares.  
He slowly pulls himself back into consciousness, vision still a little blurred but not nearly as badly as it had been earlier.

“...ou awake?”

He heard that voice again. He only caught the last part of whatever it was saying but it’s enough to get him the rest of the way back into reality.  
Through his still slightly blurred vision, he tilts his head, squinting to try and make out the form that he assumed the voice came from.

“Wha?” Is all he manages out, too out of it still to form any coherent thoughts.  
He hears the person in front of him chuckle, and the realization of who exactly it is hits him like a train.

“I asked if you were awake.” Ric says softly, scooting closer towards Damon.  
Not too close, though. Just in case he freaks out again.

“Ric...?” Damon can’t tell if he should feel comforted or horrified.  
Does Ric know what he did? Is he mad at him? Does he hate him? He probably hates him. Everyone hates him.  
So stupid...

“The one and only.” Ric replies with a smile, joking to try and lighten the mood a little. Damon’s a snarky guy. He appreciates stuff like that. At least, Ric hopes he still does.

Ric brings his hand up to Damon’s cheek, stroking it gently, suddenly forgetting his previous reservations about being too close to the vampire.  
Damon flinches at the touch, but eventually eases into it, relaxing as much as he can despite his unfortunate position.

“Why are you here?” Damon pipes up again, tone still softer than his usual one but less dazed sounding.  
Ric takes that as a good sign.

“Do you really need to ask that anymore?” Ric’s smile never falters as his hand falls from Damon’s cheek, only for it to move down to his knee.

“You should go...I’m not exactly in my right mind, Ric.” Damon sighed, letting his head fall back against the wall as he stared at the chains.  
He refuses to look at Alaric in the eyes. He can’t. It’ll only make him feel worse.

“I’m not leaving. And don’t even try to convince me to because it won’t work.” Ric responds firmly, just as stubbornly caring as always.  
Damon laughs a little at that.

“Can you go one day without trying to play hero?” The vampire questioned, smiling lightly now.  
Seeing Damon smile despite everything almost brought Ric to tears. He won’t cry, though. For Damon’s sake and his own.

“Nope.” Ric responds with his own smile still in place, sighing as he readjusts a little so he’s leaning closer to Damon’s face.  
“Not until you can go a day without getting yourself killed.”

They both laugh at that, Damon wheezing more than anything.  
“Touché.” The vampire responds, finally letting his head fall back down to it’s original position.

When his eyes meet Alaric’s, he can’t decide how to feel anymore.  
Should he revel in how utterly beautiful for those eyes are? Or feel horrible that they have to see him in this weak, torn up state?

He doesn’t have time to decide before Ric presses their lips together.  
It’s gentle. Reassuring and so light that it barely even feels real.  
The surreal part makes Damon panic for a bit, breathing quickly when he thinks this might be another nightmare waiting to happen.

But Ric’s hand on his cheek is real. And the way the hunter’s other hand gently squeezes his shoulder is definitely real.  
So Damon calms down again, giving himself over to the warm, reassuring sensations.

When Ric pulls back, it feels like a small piece of Damon pulled back with him.  
He both hates and adores that feeling at the same time. Because it just further proves that he’s so far gone with Ric to ever feel whole without him.

“Still tired?” Ric asks after a moment of blissful silence, brushing a strand of the vampire’s hair back behind his ear.

“Not really.” Damon shrugs as best he can, wincing a little at how sore his shoulders suddenly feel.  
He hadn’t been, well, THERE enough earlier to realize just how painful these chains are. Now the pain is setting in and he wishes he could go back to that halfway state. Somewhere between reality and being unconscious.

“Hungry?” Ric asks but he already knows the answer.  
Damon cringes at the question. Of course he’s hungry. But he’s not sure if they have any blood bags left and there’s no humans nearby except for...  
Ric chuckles a bit before he starts rolling up his sleeve a tad, and Damon tries to jerk away but of course he can’t.  
“Hey. It’s okay. I want you to do this.”

“Ric. No.” Damon musters up a firm tone, but that doesn’t seem to deter the hunter.  
When Ric’s wrist is hovering dangerously close to his mouth, Damon has to hold his breath to keep from completely vamping out.

“It’s okay, Damon. Drink.” Alaric tries to reassure him, but Damon shakes his head, tilting is away from the teacher’s arm.  
“Damon-“

“No.” The vampire refuses once again, a little more of a growl to his voice now.  
“I won’t hurt you.”

“Fine. But if you desiccate-“

“-don’t blame you. I know.” Damon interjected, giving a sigh of relief when Ric pulled his arm away.

There wasn’t much to do considering Damon’s...situation, so the two of them sat in silence for a bit.  
Until finally, Ric made up his mind on an idea he’s been toying with all night.

Damon was startled when he felt the chains being messed with, only to realize Ric was now standing up and-with quiet a lot of urgency-unchaining the vampire.

“Ric! Are you crazy!?” Damon hissed, but he couldn’t do much else aside from glare up at the hunter.  
Ric paid no mind to the confused, angry stare he was getting from Damon.

“Nope. Just tired of seeing you miserable.” Alaric responded simply, letting the first set of chains drop.  
He’s silently thankful that Stefan slipped him the keys before he left. The vampire had been hesitant, leaving Ric with a warning to ‘not unchain Damon under any circumstances’, but the teacher feels like being rebellious today.

“I could hurt you! Or kill you! Ric just STOP.” Damon’s protests were turning into something closer to begging now, but still, his boyfriend refused to listen.  
Damon barely noticed how his hand was gripping Ric’s shirt, as if he wanted to tug him down but he wasn’t pulling on him.

“You won’t, Damon.” Ric reassured Damon, but he was partially reassuring himself.  
He fumbled a little getting the other set undone, shaking a tad now that he realized he was completely committed to this. If something happens, it’s entirely his fault.  
But the more he thinks about it, the more he thinks he doesn’t really care.

When the rest of the chains released their hold on Damon, the vampire let out a sigh of both relief and annoyance.  
His boyfriend is an idiot. An absolute moron.

“Need a hand?” Ric asked, extending his hand out for Damon to take. He knows waking might be a little difficult for Damon, considering he’s been chained up and stationary in the same place for a while now.

The vampire shook his head stubbornly, using the wall for support as he pushed himself up.  
“I’m not a toddler, Ric. I can do thi-“ Damon stumbled, falling forward, bracing himself for impact of his body painfully hitting the floor.  
But that impact never came.

Ric had managed to catch him, arms wrapped tightly around Damon as he braced his fall.  
Holding up Damon’s entire weight would be an issue if it weren’t for the fact that he’s used to it by now. For a...variety of reasons.

“You were saying?” Ric teased, still holding Damon up as the vampire said nothing.  
He heard irritated grumbling, but couldn’t quite make out what Damon was saying as it was muffled by Ric’s shirt.  
“You’re gonna have to speak up.”

“...thank you.” Damon sounded irritated, but that sounded sincere enough so Ric took it.  
Damon continued to make Ric hold him, enjoying the feeling way more than he would like to admit. He can hear Ric’s heartbeat, and although he’s starving, the sound invokes more comfort than it does cravings.

“I take it you’re not moving anytime soon, huh?” Ric laughed, holding Damon closer.  
Damon just hummed in response, trying to bury himself further into Alaric’s shirt.

Are Ric’s legs killing him right about now? Yeah, yeah they are.  
Does his pain overshadow how fricken much he’s loving this?  
Definitely not.

“Can I ask you something?” Ric was about to ruin the moment, but he needs an answer and he needs it now.  
Damon nodded against him, so he continued.  
“Did you see me? When you were in the stone?”

“Nope.” Damon answered simply, remaining still in Ric’s arms even as he spoke, finally wrapping his own arms around the hunter.  
While the actions of the vampire made Ric’s heart jump, he still felt...unsatisfied with that answer.

There was a brief pause.  
Ric regretted even opening his mouth as Damon said nothing, probably secretly cursing him for killing the mood.

“I guess you’re too good to exist in Hell, Ric.” Damon finally added, smiling when he felt Ric let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding.  
“Too good for any of this shit...” Damon added in a mumble, but Ric still heard it.

“Nah. I’m a pretty screwed up guy.” He argued lightly, managing to move one of his arms so he could run his hand over Damon’s hair.

“Mm...screwed up in the best way possible...” Damon hummed, relishing in the affection he’s getting.

They didn’t say much after that.  
They didn’t have to.  
Damon needs comfort, not rambling, so Alaric kept his mouth shut.  
And Ric needs Damon’s compliance, not his snarky remarks, so the vampire remained silent.

Stefan will be pissed if he finds out Ric let Damon out.  
Which is precisely why neither of them plan on telling him that Damon ever left those chains.

It’s better that way. For all of them.

•

After a while, it has become clear to Alaric that Damon had fallen asleep again in his arms.  
So he set Damon down against the wall, watching with a fond smile as the vampire slept his cares away.

Truth be told, he’s probably having another nightmare right about now, but Ric likes to believe he’s at peace in his dreams.

He stared at Damon for a bit before he started chaining him back up.  
It pained him to do so, but he doesn’t have a choice. If Damon wakes up and starts hallucinating again, Ric might be on the receiving end of a whole lotta pain.

God, he hates doing this. Out of everything thing he’s been through, this is up there as one of the worst.  
It’s like he’s the one being tortured now.

The thing he hates most is the thought of hurting his boyfriend.   
The fact that he knows it’s uncomfortable for Damon, but has to do it anyways. He knows he’ll have to comfort Damon afterwards to make up for the soreness, and that’s what gets him.  
Because it’s his fault. This time it is, anyways.  
The first time? He hadn’t even fully agreed to chaining Damon up.  
But now? He’s the one restraining him.

But he’ll get yelled at by both Damon and his younger brother if he doesn’t do this. It’s what’s best for all of them.  
And yet it feels so wrong.

Throughout their whole relationship, Ric has done nothing but shower Damon in as much love and tenderness as he needs, especially in situations like this one.  
Sure, they bicker and insult one another daily. But that’s just them. That’s their own little affection-code. Their special way of flirting without making it awkward for anyone else.  
Not that either of them give a damn about what the others think of them, but especially in rough patches, the subtle flirting is more appropriate.

But this isn’t bickering or play-fighting. Hell, this isn’t even meaningless threats with no real malice behind them that they use to get the other riled up.  
This is actually hurting Damon.  
And it hurts Ric almost as badly as it does the vampire.

He tried to convince himself that, under different circumstances, this would be easy. That if Damon wanted it, it could be fun or hot or SOMETHING other than a guilt-inducing mess.  
But he doubts it.  
He doesn’t like hurting people. Especially not his boyfriend. Different circumstances or not, he would have a hard time doing this.

Huh. Funny. Damon’s never asked for anything like this.  
Considering that he’s, well, Damon...Ric had thought early on that he’d be constantly pestering the hunter with weird, somewhat disturbing requests.  
But he never did.  
The first few nights he’d complained and griped for a while when Ric handled him with care.   
Nowadays he lets it happen.  
And to Ric’s knowledge, he’s happy with it.

Now probably isn’t the time to be reminiscing about their early-relationship shenanigans, though.

He steps away from the now chained vampire, looking down at him sadly.  
He still looks peaceful, even if he’s probably suffering right about now.

He’s getting mild deja vu from all this.  
Flashbacks to the werewolf bite and Damon being in constant, unbearable pain.  
And Ric was pretty much useless. Helpless, anyways. Since the cure relied entirely on Katherine and he was just a weak, easily disposable human.

But he’d managed to somewhat take care of Damon back then.  
And he’s going to try his best to take care of him now.  
No matter what it takes.  
Because Damon, the reckless idiot that he may be, is the most important person in the world to him.  
The love of his life.  
And he’ll protect Damon. Even if it means doing things out of his worst nightmares.

He’ll do it. For him.


	7. Playing With Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damon despises fireworks.  
> Timeframe: WOW I have no concept of time with these fics-  
> Category: Angst/fluff, hurt/comfort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I had a dream about this last night and decided to write it at random intervals today so  
> Enjoy✨  
> (I haven’t seen any fics, at least Dalaric related ones anyways, that deal with Damon still having PTSD from his war shenanigans so I tRIED)

Ric entered Damon’s room without so much as a knock, knowing the vampire probably already heard him entering anyways.  
“Big day today.” He wasn’t really sure what else to say, considering he can’t actually see Damon right now.

That, however, changed when his boyfriend emerged from the bathroom, hair still a little wet from his shower but he was otherwise normal looking.  
Ric didn’t know wether to be disappointed or relieved that Damon was fully clothed.

“If by ‘big day’ you mean another pointless festival, then yes, it’s a big day today.” Damon had that smartass, snarky tone to his voice that Ric has grown so fond of.

“That’s exactly what I mean.” Ric said as he made himself comfortable on Damon’s bed, getting an intrigued look from the vampire.  
“Don’t even think about it.” Ric threw that out there before Damon could get any ideas, and the intrigued smile quickly faded.

“You’re no fun.” Damon huffed, walking over to the bed but not sitting down just yet.  
“Get up, handsome. Let’s get this over with.”

“Since when do you care about participating?” Ric asked with a fond smile, standing but not daring to move away from the bed.

“Since I decided I want this day over as quickly as possible.” Damon’s snark overshadowed his actual hesitance with today’s event perfectly, leading Ric to believe the vampire was just being stubborn.

“Oh? And why’s that?” Ric snuck his arms around Damon’s waist, tugging him closer.

“Because as soon as it’s all over...” Damon lowered his voice, glancing at the door for a second as if somebody was just gonna barge in. “...I’ll have you all to myself.” The satisfied grin he gave after that made it impossible for Ric to hold back.

Ric pulled him in for what was intended to be a quick, gentle kiss.  
Of course, Damon wanted more than that. He latched on, deepening it before Ric could even think about pulling away, tugging desperately to keep Ric as close as possible.

Alaric manage to pull away just for a second to get a small, needy noise out of the vampire, before diving back in.  
Fast and simple doesn’t seem to be his goal anymore. He’s dragging it out now too. In fact, he’s going even slower than Damon now, much to Damon’s annoyance.

Damon tried to tug Ric down, force them toppling back onto the bed, but Alaric stood firmly in place.  
He laughed a little into the kiss as Damon tried and failed to take control, whimpering when Ric remained completely dominate over their movement.

They both know deep down that if Damon wanted to, he could toss Ric onto the bed right here and now. He’s much stronger than his boyfriend ever thought of being.  
But he won’t.  
Because despite everything, he likes this dynamic. Not having to be in control or responsible.

“Ric...c’mon...stop teasing.” Damon whined, breaking the kiss for a moment just so he could complain.

“I can’t help it. It’s fun.” Ric chuckled, and the pout on Damon’s face only fueled his laughter.  
“Besides, it’s not like we’d have time to take this any further, even if we rush it...” Ric mumbled, leaning in to plant kisses down Damon’s jaw.

“Can’t we just miss the fireworks? This is way more fun...” Damon grinned, closing his eyes as Ric continued to shower him in affection.  
So much for ‘wanting to participate’...

“Nope. Elena would kill us.” Ric moved back to Damon’s lips, pecking them quickly. He finally pulled back, looking down at the vampire with a soft smile.  
“Besides, it’ll be fun.”  
Ric’s the one being persistent now, and Damon silently regrets ever making Ric get off the bed.

Damon looked unconvinced, with a hint of something else in his eyes that Ric couldn’t place.  
“It’s just another stupid founders event...” Damon argued, playing with Ric’s hair as he spoke.

“But we’ve never shot fireworks together.” Ric argued back, but Damon didn’t seem to like that response.

“Then we can do it some other time! Let’s just stay in here...please...” Damon’s voice wavered a little at the end, and Ric felt a wave of concern wash over him.  
He sounds scared. Genuinely, uncharacteristically scared and nervous.  
Not to mention that he said ‘please’. Damon never says that in normal conversations.

“Damon what’s wrong with-“

“Are you two done yet?” Elena called from outside the door, interrupting Alaric before he could get to the bottom of Damon’s nervousness.

“Yup! Be out in a second!” Damon yelled back with the most chipper tone he could muster. The annoyance that laced his voice was still clear as day, though.

Damon shot Ric and odd look before vamp-speeding off, leaving his boyfriend utterly lost and confused.  
Ric just stood for a second, letting his arms drop now that he had nobody to wrap them around.

What the hell just happened?

•

When Damon emerged from his room, he was greeted by Stefan at the bottom of the stairs.

“Took you long enough.” The younger brother teased, that smug smile plastered on his face.  
Damon rolled his eyes, but smiled all the same.

“I was getting ready.” He argued back, blatantly lying even though he really doesn’t need to.

“Mhmm. Sure.” Stefan hummed, watching as Damon walked past him nonchalantly. “How’s Ric, by the way?”

Damon laughed, but didn’t turn around, afraid that he might be blushing a little too hard to be considered ‘a Damon thing’.  
“I’m sure he’s doing great. Wherever he is.”

That excuse might have worked if Ric hadn’t began descending the stairs moments later, blowing Damon’s excuse even further out of the water than it already was.

“Found him.” Stefan said with that teasing tone still lingering, giving Damon a knowing grin.

“Do I even wanna know?” Ric asked as he reached the bottom of the staircase, originally looking at Stefan but now his eyes were locked on the older Salvatore brother.

Before Stefan could give a respond, Damon sling an arm around his little brother’s shoulders, grinning at Alaric.  
“Stefan here was just on his way out. Weren’t ya, Stef?” His gaze flicked to Stefan, who just sighed in response.

Stefan was gone in the blink of an eye, leaving Alaric and Damon alone in the entryway.  
The silence lingered for only a moment after the other vampire left, quickly being filled by Damon’s usual snarky attitude.

“Well I guess we should go join them.” Damon had that forced, fake grin on his face that spoke volumes to Ric about how he actually felt.

Ric grabbed his wrist before Damon could open the door, keeping the vampire from leaving just yet.  
“You can talk to me, you know. If you have a problem then-“

“I know, Ric.” Damon interrupted, bringing a hand up to Ric’s cheek as his grin morphed into a more genuine smile for a moment.  
“Just forget about it, okay? I was being stupid and stubborn. You know, typical me stuff.”

Ric gave him an unconvinced look, but reluctantly let it go.  
“Okay...but if you get to feeling uncomfortable then-“

“Perfect!” Damon interjected again, patting Ric’s cheek gently as that forced grin came back.

He was out the door before Ric could say anything else, once again leaving his boyfriend in the dust.

If this is how the rest of the day is gonna be going, Alaric is a little scared.

•

Damon just watched as Stefan and the others gushed about the fireworks, laughing and speculating about how loud or colorful they would be.  
He winced when they were discussing the noise. Out of every holiday or event out there, fireworks are always his least favorite part.

He didn’t help buy any of the fireworks or set any of them out. Those things are horrifying enough when they’re exploding, he doesn’t wanna go shopping for literal bombs.

Ric, however, was much more into the whole idea. He helped shop for them. He was even the one who started the whole ‘I wonder how loud this one will be’ conversation.  
He supposes he shouldn’t be too offended by that. Ric doesn’t know about his issues, so he can’t complain about his boyfriend having fun.

The only good thing about this all is how excited Ric looks. Like a kid. Just like how Damon would be looking right now if it weren’t for his baggage.  
The little glimmer of excitement, and maybe even mischief, in Ric’s eyes is endearing in it’s own way.

Even if the source of that excitement shakes Damon to his core.

Maybe he should’ve told Ric.  
But he doesn’t wanna spoil the fun. Because that seems to be all he’s good at doing anymore. Ruining things.  
And he doesn’t want to get in the way of a perfectly innocent day.

“Damon?”  
He suddenly realized that Ric had been talking to him, and he snapped his attention back to the hunter.

“Huh?” He hated how dumb that sounded, but he’s not exactly in the state of mind to think of anything better.

“I just wanted to know if you wanted to light the first one.” While Ric’s offer was coming from a place purely of innocence, Damon still felt like he had been punched in the gut by that question.  
Nononono he doesn’t want to. No way in hell. He hates those damn things!

“Sure.“  
Why did he agree!?  
Damon you idiot! Shit this is bad...  
Ugh. Why does love do this to him? If it would’ve been Stefan or Elena or anybody else he would’ve said no in a heartbeat.  
But it was Ric. Of course it was Ric. It’s always Ric.  
And Ric makes him to some of the most stupid shit he can ever dream of.

“Great! Just pick a spot and light ‘em up.” Alaric’s unknowing grin only amplified the guilt Damon felt for being such a coward, but he smiled too and went along with it despite himself.

With the literal ticking time bomb in one hand, and lighter in the other, Damon reluctantly placed the little cylinder of doom out in the driveway.  
His hands were trembling a little. He could hear the other fireworks off in the distance and it reminded him all too much of his time in the war.

Breathe, Damon.  
Just. Breathe.

He managed to still his hands for long enough to light the firework, watching the sparks ignite for a moment before the panic set in.  
He couldn’t just walk back up the driveway normally. That would be risking it too much.

So, he decided to put his vamp speed to good use, bolting back up to Ric in a flash.  
Stefan shot him an odd look, but he just shrugged, choosing to ignore how unnecessary that probably was.

Ric was looking at him oddly too.  
And Damon realized he was panting. Not because he’s worn out, or from the heat, but from the bone chilling terror he had felt lighting that stupid little thing up.

He grabbed his water bottle off the ground quickly, chugging it to avoid having to speak to Ric or look him in the eyes.  
Considering that his own eyes are probably wild looking right about now, he really doesn’t wanna freak Alaric out.

Finally, the sound of the explosion rang through his ears.  
He would’ve ran for the hills if he wasn’t frozen in place from fear and sheer willpower to not freak out.  
He still flinched, though. But luckily Ric was too focused on the fireworks to notice.

Did he mention that he hates fireworks?  
Actually, that’s putting it lightly. He DESPISES fireworks with every fiber of his being.

He tried not to focus on them, though.  
Instead, he shifted his attention to Ric.  
Everything about him was easing Damon’s nerves little by little.  
His smile.  
His laugh.  
His heartbeat that Damon’s focused his tremendous vampire hearing on.

Damon let out a long, shaky breath, never looking away from Alaric for a single moment.  
Another one went off.

His mind went straight back to it’s darkest crevices.  
A mix of memories from being on the front lines meshed with morbid fantasies that mixed the past and the present.  
Strangers screaming in terror contrasted by Ric calling out for Damon in a pained, struggling voice.

And as soon as they came they faded, replaced by reality and Ric’s smile once again.  
He likes this image a lot better.

Another explosion.  
Ric screaming.  
Blood. So much blood and dirt flying everywhere.

Another one.  
Ric’s face.  
Gentle and sweet as he stared at the terrified vampire.

He swore he heard Ric’s voice, but not a scream this time.  
A soft, barely audible sound.  
He’s not sure if he’s imagining it or if it’s real.

Then his tone was more urgent. Less soft and his smile faded.  
And it was right then and there that Damon realized that it was real.

He shook himself out of his daze just in time to hear another explosion.  
Damon flinched again, and this time, Ric noticed.  
“Damon? You okay?” He reached for Damon’s hand, but the vampire didn’t take it. So he grabbed Damon’s hand himself, earning another startled jump from his spooked looking boyfriend.

“Hmm?” Damon hummed in confusion, trying to act calm and collected but he’s trembling a little.  
He was squeezing Ric’s hand pretty hard, too.  
He still feels somewhat out of it, his heart beating at a faster than normal rate for vampire standards.

Ric got a little closer, dropping his voice to a whisper as to not draw attention to Damon.  
“Damon...you’re shaking...” 

“I am?” Damon asked, but he sounded half out of it still. He grabbed onto Ric’s arm with his other hand, jumping when another boom sounded from somewhere nearby. His harsh grip on Ric’s bicep was enough to hurt, but the hunter ignored it.

“We’re going inside.” Alaric’s tone was firm, and he tugged Damon towards the boarding house before the vampire could protest.  
Nobody seemed to notice them leaving. And Ric felt a little mad about that. Nobody seemed to notice ANYTHING going on with Damon. Not even Stefan. Yeah, Damon is good at hiding this stuff, but seriously?

Damon didn’t protest when Alaric pulled him into the house.  
He didn’t say a word when Ric sat him down on the couch, watching him with concerned eyes.  
He finally spoke when Ric released his hand, and suddenly his feeling of security was fading fast. 

“Ric? What are you doing?” Damon sounded genuinely confused, and Ric would’ve chuckled at that under different circumstances.

“Taking care of you.” Ric responded with a firm-yet-gentle tone, and Damon almost protested again when Alaric began to leave the room, but he couldn’t find the words.

He shuddered when another firework went off, closing his eyes as he tried to curl in on himself.  
He’s trying to hide from it but he can’t escape. The noise is all around him. Ringing in his ears and every explosion sends his heart racing faster than it should be for a vampire’s heart.

He let out a soft sob that he didn’t even realize he was holding in.  
He doesn’t feel like he’s crying, but he can’t catch his breath. He can barely see. His vision is blurry for no reason and he just wants to go home...

When a pair of strong arms-accompanied by a blanket-wrap around him, he manages to reign himself back in to reality.

He is home.  
He’s safe.  
Ric is here and he’s holding him.  
He’s okay.  
He’s okay...

“I’m right here.” Ric’s voice was soft, directly in his ear and he shuddered again but not because of the fireworks.  
He was nearly frozen, but let himself lean against Ric, still trembling as he rested his head against the hunter’s chest.

The sound of Ric’s heartbeat was almost enough to block out the explosions.  
Damon has gotten into the habit of just listening to Ric’s heart.  
It’s comforting. So beautifully rhythmic and it makes Damon feel like he’s at home. The gentle thump has become like a security blanket to him.

Speaking of blankets...  
Ric pulled the blanket up further, wrapping Damon in it, draping it over his shoulder as the vampire curled into him.  
While it felt nice to have Damon this close, he felt a twinge of guilt as well. The only reason they’re inside cuddling right now is because Damon is deathly afraid of what’s going on outside.

Another explosion.  
Damon jumped, but Ric soothed him, running his hand along Damon’s back, kissing the top of his head as he held the shivering vampire close.

Another one.  
Damon flinched.  
“You’re okay...you’re home...nothing is gonna happen to you...” Alaric whispered to him, tangling his other hand in Damon’s hair.

Another went off.  
Damon remained still.

Ric smiled a little at that, but continued to soothe Damon. Stopping now will only send Damon back into that terrified state.

They went on a while like that.  
Damon stopped jumping. His breath would hitch every once in a while, but he was mostly calm, nuzzling against Ric’s shirt and basking himself in Ric’s scent.

It all came crashing down when the front door sprang open, revealing an excited looking Elena in the doorway.

“Are you guys coming back out?” Her innocent excitement was the only reason that Ric didn’t go off on her.  
And maybe it‘ll be fine. Damon didn’t seem to mind the intrusion but he didn’t seem to welcome it either.

“I’m not sure. Don’t worry about it, okay? Go have fun.” Ric put on his best ‘I’m not definitely not mad at you right now’ voice. It seemed to convince Elena, and with a skeptical but still excited look, she turned around to walk out the door again.

Maybe it could’ve gone smoothly.  
If Stefan hadn’t just set off a particularly loud, larger than usual firework right outside.  
Setting it off right before Elena closed the door.  
Ric braced himself for the oncoming assault on he and Damon’s ears.  
The sound will be clearer than the others due to it’s close range and the door still being open.

Boom.

Damon practically flew off the couch, tumbling out of Ric’s arms with a strangled yell.  
Elena had shut the door mere seconds before Damon jumped, but not in time to soften the blow of the firework.

“Damon!” Ric felt a surge of panic flow through him, and he scrambled off the couch to comfort the trembling vampire. Suddenly he sort of wished Elena was still inside, just so he could have some backup here.  
“Damon? Hey...” He reached out a hand to run it down Damon’s back, but that proved to be a mistake.

Damon whipped around at the touch, smacking Alaric’s hand away and looking up at the hunter with pure terror.  
Ric didn’t miss the tears forming in Damon’s eyes. And the sight made him want to cry as well.  
Damon doesn’t cry unless he has to. Or something has been weighing down on him for so long that he can’t hold it in anymore.  
Damon held himself up on his elbows, positioning himself so he could crawl away if he really needed to.

“Ric...?” Damon’s voice was gentle, but strained, clearly still panicked even after he realized he wasn’t on the battlefield.  
His eyes still wide with fear and his breath still coming in harsh, stuttering heaves.

“I’m here.” Alaric tried his best to sound reassuring, bringing his hand to Damon’s cheek to stroke it gently. Soothing his startled lover to the best of his abilities.  
Damon’s arms gave out, and he hit the floor again, still staring up Ric as he willed himself to calm down.

There was another loud, close explosion outside.  
Damon surged forward, giving the perfect opening for Ric to wrap his arms around the vampire to hold him.  
Damon said nothing, shuddering as he returned the embrace, fingers curling into Ric’s shirt as he held on like his life depended on it.

Boom.  
Damon jumped, burying his face in the space between Ric’s neck and shoulder.

“Shh...it’s okay...” Ric soothed, sitting up so the position was more comfortable for them both.  
Damon glanced up a little to look at the fire, watching the flames flicker as he trembled in Alaric’s lap.

Another, less violent, explosion.  
Damon shivered, but just clutched the fabric of his boyfriend’s shirt harder, not even realizing that he was pulling it up slightly.  
Ric would’ve smiled at the feeling of the fabric being pulled if it weren’t for the intensity of Damon’s grip. He’s holding on so tightly that it must be painful for him by now.

Ric decided to test the waters. Get a feel for how coherent Damon is.  
“Couch?” He asked, keeping it as a one-word question, knowing Damon will understand what he’s getting at.  
The vampire shook his head.  
“Do you wanna stay here?”  
Another, more hesitant shake.  
“Your bedroom?”  
Finally, he got a nod.  
“Okay...I’m gonna lift you up now.” Ric cautioned, just so Damon wouldn’t be as startled by the sudden movement.

He scooped the vampire up, the task made easier since Damon was already wrapped around him, clinging to him still.

As the ascended the stairs to Damon’s room, the explosions seemed louder.  
Ric winced when the first one went off, but Damon didn’t even flinch.  
The lack of a response was briefly concerning, but he decided that it was probably a good thing.

When he got to Damon’s room, he could see the fireworks outside in the distance. Those were the kind he didn’t mind, since the sounds were barely noticeable.

Ric placed Damon gently on the bed, noting that his boyfriend’s eyes are now closed.  
He must’ve fallen asleep in Ric’s arms...

Before he did anything else, Ric got straight to business in ensuring Damon could sleep comfortably.  
He started by tucking the vampire in, getting him as warm and comfortable as possible for extra comfort.

He searched the room for earmuffs, plugs, or anything that could block out the sounds.  
It might not be a huge help, considering vamp hearing is heightened, but he’ll try whatever he can.

He eventually found a pair of headphones, which he decided would work decently enough.  
He put them on the vampire carefully, tensing whenever Damon stirred but relaxed again as he settled.

Once he felt that things were suitable enough, he slipped into the bed next to Damon, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend slowly.  
Damon, even in his sleep, can’t resist some cuddles. He responded immediately, melting back into Ric with ease.

“Sweet dreams...” Ric whispered, closing his eyes and finding it rather easy to fall asleep despite the noise outside.

Damon didn’t stir once after that. He snuggled further into Ric every now and then, but aside from that, he was peaceful.  
Alaric woke every now and then from particularly loud explosions, but it didn’t take long for him to fall back asleep.

This isn’t exactly how Ric had hoped the day would go.  
He felt responsible for Damon being on edge. If he wouldn’t have pushed it if he had known it would do this to the vampire.

But at least Damon is safe.

•

Damon woke sometime in the early morning, although he’s not quite sure when exactly.  
It’s pitch black outside, and there’s no fireworks to be heard.

All he’s aware of is Ric’s arms around him, and the feeling of something on his head, covering his ears.

He wants to go back to sleep, though. So he doesn’t move to much to keep his groggy state intact.

He closes his eyes again, but just can’t seem to get back to sleep.  
Okay, screw this.

He tosses the thing, which he now recognizes as an old pair of headphones he forgot he had, somewhere across the room.  
He’ll find them tomorrow. Maybe.

He flips around in Alaric’s arms, humming happily at the change in position.  
He likes cuddling like this way more. Getting to bury his face in Ric’s shirt and look up at that gorgeous face whenever he wants is always a good thing.

He can’t even remember most of what happened today.  
It’s a blur of fireworks, tears, and a particularly nice make out session right in this very room.

But he’s a bit fuzzy on the details.  
Ah, whatever.  
He’ll ask about it tomorrow.

Maybe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The trauma train has left the station  
> Choo choo 🚂


	8. The Shattered Salvatore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He can’t remember what happened, but it was probably his fault.  
> Timeframe: You already know the answer  
> Category: Angst (mild hurt/comfort at the end)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since a certain somebody likes when I write Damon angst, I whipped this up real quick before I went to bed (it took like twenty minutes so don’t judge it too hard if it’s bad-)  
> This one is for you Dawnsummer my dude.  
> (I’m gonna read the last comment you posted when I wake up and also if you read this one before then, whatever comment you post here I shall also read when I wake up)

He opened his eyes to the familiar view of the flickering fire, feeling the warmth of it vaguely ghost over him.

He groans, shifting on the couch and-  
Ow. Shit that hurt...-winces a little as he feels something sharp digging in to his back.  
It takes some serious effort to move his arm behind his back, but he manages.

Huh.  
Glass.  
Very broken glass.  
Well that’s not good.  
Great. What did he screw up now?  
God, his head hurts like hell...

He can’t remember much.  
There was yelling. A lot of yelling. And a door slamming.  
But the rest is fuzzy.

It was probably his fault, though.  
Every damn thing that happens is his fault, right?  
Everyone wants Damon’s help when it’s convenient but heaven forbid he BREATHES the wrong way or else it’s back in the doghouse.

It’s always ‘Stefan this’ and ‘Stefan that’ and why does everyone treat his brother like he’s so damn perfect!?

Because he is, isn’t he?  
He’s the good one.  
The light at the end of everyone’s tunnel while Damon is the black hole sucking the life out of the whole town.

So he does deserve the doghouse after all. He deserves the abuse because he’s just getting a taste of his own medicine, right?  
He’s the one being selfish.  
He’s the stupid one.  
He’s the failure in a town full of perfect little angels who can do no wrong.

Ugh, why is this pain not healing?  
Oh.  
Maybe because there’s another shard still jammed into the back of his head.

He tugs it out-holy SHIT that hurt-and let’s it fall to the floor.  
Finally, the wound is closing up and the pain is subsiding.

The physical pain, anyways.  
The mental torment never ceases.

This is all Stefan’s fault.  
He forced him to turn.  
He’s the reason Damon became this monster everyone portrays him as but Stefan never gets blamed for it.  
When Stefan blames Damon, it’s fair game. But when Damon dares to tarnish the name of his perfect little brother? All hell breaks loose.

No.  
This is all his fault.  
It’s his fault for even existing. For coming back to Mystic Falls. For trying to be better and maybe do good by their family’s name.  
But as always, he screwed it up.

The more he thinks about it, the more he’s thinking whatever fight caused all that broken glass was probably with Ric.  
He probably screwed their relationship up just like he’s totally screwed up everything else in his life.  
The one shred of good.  
The only reason he’s still sane.  
And it’s probably gone forever.

He has nobody to blame but himself.  
Nobody.  
Because he can never blame Ric. God, he can never blame him no matter how hard he tries.  
Ric is too good for that. Too genuinely good Damon feels like the world’s biggest prick for even THINKING about blaming him.

But that’s just his nature, isn’t it?  
He can’t have anything good because his entire being rejects it.  
He’s a monster who only knows how to create chaos, destruction, and hate wherever he goes.

He used to blame his father.  
He used to blame Stefan.  
He used to blame Katherine and Elena and everyone under the damn sun.

But now? For once in his life he’s winding up to the truth.  
The world would be a better place if Damon Salvatore never disgraced the face of this planet.

Why does he feel like crying? He can’t cry. He’s not allowed to cry. He’ll get in trouble for crying because apparently everything he does is a sin.

He wants Ric.  
Needs Ric.  
Wants that comfort that he stubbornly rejected for so long.  
Craves that tenderness he never knew he needed until he had it.

But that’s gone.  
Ric isn’t here.  
Ric isn’t coming back either, is he?  
He probably ran for the hills.  
Good.  
He should leave.  
Leave Damon to wallow in his own self pity until he shrivels up on his own damn couch.

What would the funeral be like?  
Would he even get a funeral?  
Probably not.  
They would probably burn him and cheer as his ashes blew away with the wind.  
Yeah. That sounds about right.

He heard his phone buzzing-and any other time that noise might be a good thing to him-and grabs it reluctantly.

His vision blurs a bit, but he can make out Ric’s contact name above the message.  
Heh.  
He manages to crack a smile when he sees that name.  
It fades quickly though, especially after he let his phone drop to the floor with a harsh clatter.

He doesn’t care.  
He doesn’t care about his phone.  
He doesn’t care about Stefan or Elena.  
He doesn’t care about himself or the the broken glass scattered around the living room.

He does care about Ric, though.  
He cares about him too much.  
He cares so damn much that he’s blinded to everything that’s so utterly wrong about himself.

He’s bad for Ric.   
So bad for him.  
A toxic, helpless, useless man following his beloved around like a lost puppy.

Ric’s words ring in his head.  
‘You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.’  
‘You’re perfect.’  
‘You’re too good for me.’

All lies.  
Lies lies lies.  
The words fizzle out into static in his head, consumed by the darkness like he always knew they would be.

He’s still crying even though he doesn’t want to be.  
Ric.  
He needs Ric.  
But he can’t have Ric.  
He doesn’t deserve Ric.  
He doesn’t deserve anything.

Actually, scratch that, he does deserve something.  
An eternity of misery.  
Just like he had promised Stefan, but with actual follow-through behind it.  
He needs that pain.  
That agony that he deserves.  
Because, oh boy, does he deserve it.

Ric never hurt him.  
Never caused him pain.  
Always treated Damon like he was a precious jewel or something. Like he was fragile.  
Because Ric knows exactly how he operates. Exactly how much pressure it takes to get him to crack until he’s sobbing into his boyfriend’s-probably ex-boyfriend now-chest for hours.

Ric’s good like that.  
Such a sweet guy with just the right amount of motivation and aggression when he needs to have it.  
Apparently, he never needs it with Damon.  
Oh, he would KILL to have Ric here with him right now, reassuring him and showering him in all those beautiful kisses as everything melts away.

But, as he’s established, he doesn’t deserve that.  
He wishes Ric would just haul-off and punch him.  
Beat him senseless so he knows for certain that he well and truly can never be loved.  
Ric would never do that.  
But Damon wishes he would.

Life is so much easier when everyone hates you.

If that annoying, nagging glimmer of hope wasn’t still burning inside him he would flip the switch.  
Actually, he wouldn’t.  
Because then he would lose out on all the suffering he needs.  
No, he wouldn’t flip the switch.  
He’d spend every day torturing himself. Driving stakes through himself and screaming for somebody to help, even though he knows nobody ever will.

He’ll have to do it himself, too.  
Because nobody else will.  
Nobody will bat an eye at poor little Damon.

He hears knocking on the door-desperate, angry knocking more than likely-and ignores it.  
He ignores it all.

He ignores the door being opened.  
That means it’s either Stefan or Ric.  
Ric has a spare key.  
It’s probably not Ric, though.  
Ric probably dumped his ass.

He ignores the hands on his face, shaking him and gently smacking him to try and get a response.  
Speaking is overrated.  
Consciousness is overrated.

He definitely ignores the voice screaming at him to wake up.  
Because if he pays attention, he’ll recognize that it’s Ric’s voice.  
And Ric hates him.  
So he can’t recognize it.

It all begins fading out, and Damon briefly hopes he’s dying.  
He knows he’s not.  
This would be too peaceful of a way to go.  
But the hole is still there.

And suddenly it’s dark.

•

He wakes up to see the familiar sight of darkness.  
Yay. Maybe he’s in hell.

And then he feels his familiar blanket.  
Nope, not in hell.

There’s a faint, familiar smell around him.  
And not just the smell of his own dried blood, either. No, this smell is substantially less gross.

Ric.  
It smells like Ric.

And for a second he got excited.  
Ric is here!  
He doesn’t hate him!  
Cuddles! Kisses!

And then his logical thinking took over and shut out the part of him that he actually likes.  
Wiped out the cheery, optimistic side and replaced it with his usual pessimism.  
His vampire side.  
A stark contrast to his more ‘human’ nature that he’s been pushing down for so long.

Ric can’t be here.  
He must be hallucinating.  
He’s probably morphing some other smell into something comforting to try and please himself.  
There’s probably...well hell if he knows...a dead body or something in here.  
Ew. Yuck.  
If that’s the case he’ll have to scrub the carpet.  
Again.

He tries to move-an effort that takes much more willpower than it should have-before he realizes that there’s a pair of strong, familiar arms around him.

Nonononon NO.  
Ric can’t be here.  
Ric needs to run. Leave. Get out. Escape. Take cover.

He panics.  
He wants to shove Ric away but-and this came as a shock even to him-he doesn’t have the want to.  
He wants to stay like this.  
He wants Ric’s embrace and his scent and everything that comes with it.  
He wants that fro eternity.

That’s selfish of him, isn’t it?  
Of course it is.  
Because he’s always selfish.  
Damon Salvatore can’t go a day without being selfish.  
A self-serving, self-loathing narcissist.

He gets on his own nerves sometimes...  
Actually, scratch that.  
He gets on his own nerves twenty-four-seven.

And then he hears it.  
Thump.  
He knows that sound.  
Thump.  
He loves that sound.  
Thump.  
That steady rhythm.

Despite himself he relaxes.  
Despite every bone in his body rejecting this whole situation, he settled in to the warmth of Ric’s arms.

‘No you idiot! Stop it! Get away from him! You’ll hurt him!’

He blocks it out.

He let’s out a sigh.  
This is comforting.  
This is nice.  
And he isn’t ruining it for once.  
It’s lasting.

His cheeks feel wet.  
Weird. His eyes are leaking.  
What is that called again?  
He’s too tired to remember.

He ignores that, too.

He breathes in.  
Ric.  
He looks up.  
Ric.  
He grips the fabric of the shirt he’s snuggled against.  
Ric.

Safe. Warm. Loved. Home.

He can’t process anything more than those words anymore.  
They’re repeating on a loop in his head now.

Suddenly the darkness starts to retreat.  
Not in the room itself, of course, but in his mind.  
He feels peaceful.  
Like he matters, at least.

Things are fading out again.  
This time, he hopes to wake up safe and sound.  
He hopes to wake in Ric’s arms, receiving his usual good-morning kisses.  
He knows Ric will fuss over him, but still, he hopes the early morning routine remains the same.

The words repeat one more time before it all goes dark again.

Safe.  
Warm.  
Loved.  
Home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was gonna make it full angst butttt  
> I figured a little hurt/comfort would be nice to throw in for y’all’s sake


	9. The Killing Kind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuation of the last fic.  
> Damon takes out his pent up aggression.  
> Timeframe: Idk when season wise, but the night after that last fic  
> Category: Angst/mild fluff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title is based off the song of the same name by Marianas Trench.  
> You should give it a listen it has a lot of Damon vibes and it’s just a really friccen good song

The music is loud.  
But it really isn’t.  
It’s barely even audible but to Damon’s ears it’s absolutely booming.  
All around him.  
Along with the slowing heartbeats echoing through him as well.

He won’t kill any of them, but he’s drained them to the brink.  
God, it feels so good...the fresh blood rushing through him...it feels like he’s melting in the best way possible.

All logical thinking is gone.  
Out the window.  
He’s riding his high. His buzz. Laying atop one of the many bar’s tables as he laughed into nothing.

He feels amazing and so utterly beat at the same time.  
He knows he’ll get ridiculed for this.  
So what? Everyone hates him anyways. What’s he got to lose?

Ric.  
That’s what.  
But he hasn’t allowed himself to think of him tonight.  
Not yet, at least.

In fact, Ric is the reason he’s doing this.  
He’s convincing his boyfriend that he’s bad for him.  
That he’s a monster.  
And this is the only way he can get that point across.

He fumbled to find his phone in his pocket, licking some of the excess blood off of his lips as he made his first and only call of the night.

“Damon? Where are you?” Ric’s worried voice came through immediately, and Damon winced at it’s volume.

“Oh, you know...no where special...” Damon’s words slurred a little, chuckling lightly as he dipped his fingers into some of the blood pooling on the table.  
“What about you, Ric?”

“Damon. Where are you.” It’s not a question this time, but a demand.  
Under different circumstances, that would make Damon get all weak and shaky and comply immediately.  
Now though?  
He’s too blood-drunk to care.

“Good luck, Ric.” Damon hummed, hanging up as he heard the beginning of what was probably shouting.

He flopped back down onto the table, head thudding against it but he really didn’t care.

He closed his eyes, thinking about all the unconscious people around the room.  
He’s already compelled them all to forget everything once they wake up.

He finally licked the blood off his fingers, reveling in the new rush of pure ecstasy that washed over him at the taste.  
Oh, he’s missed this.  
This high feeling.  
One of the perks of feeding is getting lost in it. And surprisingly, limiting how much blood you take is half the fun.  
The rush of having to have self control is torture but so exciting at the same time.

The neon sign outside contrasted beautifully with the darkness of the bar. He’d cut off the power to the main lights a while ago.  
He likes the ambience off the soft, colorful glow much more than the usual dark bar lighting.

His eyes fluttered to a close as he sprawled out across the table even more, grinning to himself.  
He feels like he’s floating.  
Soaring far, far away from any semblance of guilt or worry.

He’ll regret it tomorrow.  
But he’s living in the here and now.  
And now is pure bliss.

He laughs again.  
Because apparently, Ric is worried.  
When Ric is the entire reason he’s here.

They had a fight.  
A pretty nasty one.  
And it was undoubtedly his fault this time. He had been stupid. Stubborn and snarky as usual and Ric got mad.  
Leave it to him to ruin what could’ve been a perfectly good day.

Ric has just wanted to help.  
Just wanted to comfort him after whatever he had went through last night (that’s still a blur to him. He still can’t remember what led to all that broken glass.).  
But Ric can’t help him.  
Can’t save him from himself.  
His self-destructive nature that eats away at him.

He’s the definition of irredeemable.

There’s a harsh light, and the music is cut out by a new sound.  
His phone is ringing.  
Damn it.  
He didn’t intend on taking anymore tonight, but...

“What?” He snapped at whoever was on the other end, his head throbbing from having to concentrate.  
Suddenly the music is annoying and he wants nothing more than to rip out everyone’s hearts just to get the beating to stop.  
His buzz is wearing off. Shit.

“Damon. Listen to me. It’s Ric.”  
Yeah, of course it is. Does that idiot really think he can’t recognize that voice? Of course he does!  
It’s his Ric. He can never forget that voice, even in his darkest moments.  
But right now is not the time to get all mushy.  
“Did you flip your switch?”

Pfff, figures. Of course he would think that.  
“My switch is fiiiiine...” Damon was practically whining by now, but he doesn’t notice it as quickly as Ric did. “...the people in this bar on the other hand...” He grinned, examining a long night’s work.

He heard muffled, angry cursing on the other end.  
Good. Ric is mad. Perfect. That’s what he wanted, right?  
Then why does hearing that hurt a little...

There’s silence.  
He almost decided to hang up when Ric spoke again.

“I forgive you.”  
What? What does that even mean? He doesn’t even know the extent of what he’s done yet!

Before he can respond, Ric speaks again.  
“Whatever you did...I forgive you, Damon.”

No.  
Shut up.  
Stop it.  
He doesn’t deserve that.  
STOP IT.

“It’s my fault. I pushed you to this. And...I’m sorry.”

No...  
No it’s not your fault, Ric.  
It could never be your fault...  
It’s his fault. He did this. He gave in to his spiraling and that’s what led him here.  
Don’t say that, Ric...

“Nobody else knows you’re gone. I won’t tell if you don’t.” Ric gave the faintest chuckle at the end.

Why?  
Why is he being this good to him?  
This is the part where he yells and screams and tells Damon he’s a selfish, narcissistic, cruel monster.

“Has anyone died?

“N-no...”

Why is he shaking? He shouldn’t be shaking.  
Actually, why did he even answer that? Why did he tell the truth? A lie would’ve made Ric abandon him.  
What does he even feel anymore?

“Good. I knew you wouldn’t kill anyone.”

Why does he sound proud?  
This is nothing to be proud of.  
This is horrific.  
This is monstrous.  
This is Damon.

“You’re not as bad as you think you are, Damon.”

Shut. Up.  
Go. Away.  
His brain is fried from this conversation. He can’t take it.  
Of course he’s bad.  
He’s Damon fricken Salvatore.  
He’s never been good. Even when he was, he truly wasn’t.  
Everything he does is a mistake.

“I know you better than anyone else. They’re wrong about you.”

No, Ric.  
No they’re not.  
You’re the one who’s wrong.  
As perfect as you are, you’re the idiot in the situation.

“You’re better than this, Damon.”

No he isn’t.  
This isn’t even a new low for home.  
Can’t you see that?

“You’ve been nothing but good to me.”

Well that’s a lie.  
He’s screwed up their relationship how many times already?  
He’s lost count.  
Point being, he hasn’t been good. Ric has been good. Ric has been perfect.  
And he’s been nothing but toxic.

“I know you may not think that...but you have been. You’ve been perfect.”

Ow.  
That felt like he just got a stake to the gut...  
His face feels wet.

“Don’t push me away, Damon. You’re better than that.”

How does he even respond to that?  
He can’t respond to that.  
So he doesn’t.

“I’m coming to get you, okay? It’s all gone be alright.”

How does he even...  
Locater spell. He lied. He got Bonnie involved, didn’t he?  
Or...  
Shit. He forgot you can track phones.

Ric keeps talking.  
He doesn’t listen.  
His trembling is too severe.  
He drops his phone.

Silence. If not for the muffled shouting coming from the floor.

“Damon? I can’t hear you anymore.”

“Damon? C’mon man don’t do this.”

“Damon!?”

•

When Ric arrives, he feels...conflicted.  
Scared, nervous, and worried as hell.

The neon sign is flickering, and he can barely see inside.  
He sees what he thinks is Damon, but quickly realizes it’s just an employee.

And then he sees him.  
Sprawled out, limp on the table, only barely illuminated by his phone which is still lighting up with messages.  
The lack of movement is more chilling than it has any right to be.

Ric enters without a word.  
He can’t form a coherent thought to save his life.  
He scoops the vampire up off the table without as much as a worried question.  
He already knows he won’t get an answer.

Carrying Damon to his car was the easy part.  
Getting him in the seat was difficult, but not too hard.  
The hardest part will be driving home in complete silence, but he’s not to that point yet.

He just stares at Damon for a bit.  
Takes in how utterly horrible he looks.  
Bloody and disheveled like he’s been through hell and back.

In the back of his mind, he knows this is his fault.  
He set Damon off.  
He caused this.

But he won’t wallow in that feeling.  
Because his priorities lay in taking care of Damon.

He brushes a strand of hair out of Damon’s eyes before he moves away, rounding his car and hopping into the driver’s seat.

He glances over at Damon one more time, just for good measure.  
If it weren’t for the blood, he’d look pretty cute like that.  
But given the circumstances, he looks mildly disturbing.

Ric drives.  
He drives and the silence sinks in around him until it’s suffocating.

“You’re an idiot, you know that?” He starts babbling.  
Going off on a guy that’s too deep in his own dreams to listen.  
But he needs some release.

“I was worried sick about you. Do you know how horrible I felt? Knowing I was the reason you ran off?”  
No response.  
Not like he was expecting one.  
Damon laid completely still, jostling with the movement of the car but that’s about it.

“I shouldn’t have pushed you, I’ll admit that much. But damn, Damon...” He can feels tears welling up in his eyes.  
Not now, Saltzman. Don’t cry...you have a vampire to escort home, and preferably without any further damage.  
“...I thought I might’ve lost you for good.” He added, a twinge of guilt in his voice.

“I thought maybe you flipped your switch...or worse.”  
The only thing worse than Damon shutting his humanity off would be him dying.  
And Ric never wants to imagine that.  
“You gotta stop doing stupid shit like this, man. You’re burning me out, here.” He chuckled a little, as if lightening the mood would help anything.

“I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry for pushing you.” He tenses a little as he spoke, knowing he’ll have to repeat this again later but not caring.  
He began rambling. Going on and on because that’s what’s keeping him sane right now.  
“I’m sorry I left you alone...I’m sorry I yelled at you like I did. You didn’t deserve that. I should know by now how stubborn you are. I do know. God, I know all too well but I still hurt you. I love you, Damon. Too damn much. And if it weren’t for that I would’ve left your ass at the bar but I’m too far gone to just abandon you. I’m sorry. For everything.”

“Stop it...”

Ric nearly crashed the damn car when he heard Damon’s voice, groggy and strained but otherwise fine sounding.

“Stop apologizing...” The vampire groaned, shifting in his seat, scooting up as best he could.  
He let his head fall back against the seat, tilting it ever so slightly to look at the hunter.

Ric was tempted to pull over, but despite himself, kept on driving.  
“How much of that did you hear?” Probably not the best thing he could’ve asked, but he needs to keep this conversation as light as possible for his own sanity.  
Damon just laughed.

“I heard enough to know that you’re an idiot.” The vampire chuckled, instinctively laying his hand out for Ric to take.  
He winced when he realized what he was doing. Ric won’t take his hand. He’s too pissed off to do that...  
But as he went to pull his hand away, Ric grabbed it, held on tight and squeezed.

“Never pull anything like this again or I WILL dump your ass.” Ric wasn’t smiling, but he didn’t seem mad either.  
Damon took that as a good thing.

“Yeah. Sure you will.” Damon grinned, giving Ric’s hand a quick response squeeze as he stared out at the road in front of them.

They both now good and well that Damon could repeat this exact same pattern a million times, and Ric would never give up on him.  
That’s how they work.  
That’s their dynamic.  
Hopelessly loyal to each other until the universe forces them apart someday.

And even then, they’ll find a way to come crawling back to each other.  
Because they’re in this madness together. Bound to each other for the rest of eternity.

But Ric is seriously starting to think that turning might be he only way to keep his vampire in line.

•

After a nice, long shower and plenty of little lectures from Ric, the both of them were relatively comfortable on Damon’s bed.  
This is a routine now. Every night Ric finds himself cuddled up either on top of or under the covers with the vampire.

It’s nice. Stable, at least. A constant in their lives of constant chaos.

“Why did you do it?”  
There’s the question Ric actually wanted to ask.

Damon shrugged.  
“I wanted to make you hate me.”

Ric just blinked at that for a second.  
“What? Why would you want that?”

Damon shook his head.  
“I dunno, Ric. I guess life is easier when nobody expects anything good from you.”

Ric sighed, kissing the top of the vampire’s head.  
“I don’t expect you to be good, Damon.” He paused, letting his boyfriend look up at him in confusion before continuing.  
“I know exactly who you are. What I got myself in to. And yeah, you’re a world class jerk-“ He couldn’t help but smile as Damon flared at him. “-but you’re not a monster.”

“You know, it’s funny. You keep saying that...” Damon turned in Ric’s arms, looking at him directly now. “...and somehow I don’t believe it.”

Ric chuckled a little.  
“You will. Eventually.”

“Mm...less talking, more kissing...” Damon leaned up, slowly capturing Ric’s lips and effectively ending the conversation there.

Ric hopes that one day, Damon will see what Ric sees in him.  
Damon is far from irredeemable. Admittedly far from perfect too, but he’s perfect enough to Ric’s eyes.  
And maybe Ric is an idiot for falling for a vampire. Damon especially.  
So if that’s the case, then he’ll happily wear that title proudly.

‘The idiot that fell in love with Damon Salvatore’ suits him quite well, in his own professional opinion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ll let the boys have a break after this and give them some pure fluff, don’t worry  
> I won’t make y’all suffer too much  
> (Basically the original plan was to have Ric go off on Damon for being big dumb stupid as usual but I went down the ‘understanding boyfriend Ric’ route instead to ease my own pain)


	10. Apologies, I’m Not Myself

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damon decides to apologize for his behavior the past few days.  
> Timeframe: The day after the previous fic  
> Category: Fluff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes the title is lyrics from Ever After because when I run out of naming inspo I resort to MTrench songs for guidance 
> 
> The final fic to round off the the angst spam. I couldn’t resist adding an actual fluff fic for the last one, so here ya go.  
> I’m gonna write a few more fluff fics before I get back to full-on angst but even the fluff might have some angst sprinkled in here and there

Ric had been hesitant on actually lecturing Damon about his behavior recently, but he went for it anyways.  
Damon relies on Ric to hold him accountable for stuff like this, so who is he to let his boyfriend down? 

And it went...pretty well, actually.  
As well as it could’ve gone, anyways.  
Damon seemed surprisingly, genuinely guilty. He smarted-off here and there, but for the most part he let Ric go off on him.

They decided on spending the day at Ric’s place. Damon had seemed adamant about spending as much time with Ric as possible to make up for his brutality.  
Ric was surprised to find that his boyfriend does actually like his apartment quite a lot. Maybe it has something to do with the TV, or maybe it’s because Ric’s bed is so small they couldn’t avoid cuddling even if they tried.

And to think not too long ago Damon insisted that he didn’t like cuddles.

The only thing that has the hunter worried however, is how Damon left almost immediately after their conversation.  
He just..bolted.  
The half-hearted kiss he gave Ric before left would’ve been nice any other day, but with how abruptly he had dipped right on out of the house, Alaric was nervous to say the least.

He wants to have faith that Damon won’t pull anything stupid again.  
But he’s been incredibly unstable the past few days, so you can’t blame a guy for wanting to hover around his emotionally distant boyfriend.

Alaric refrained from calling the vampire or checking in, instead trying to keep himself occupied in his living room.  
He tried watching TV.  
But he couldn’t focus on it.  
So he settled on just twiddling his thumbs on the couch, waiting for Damon to return.

And after plenty of patience, worrying, and failing to read an old book he found under the couch, he finally heard the door open.

“Ric? You’re still here, right?” Damon called out, sounding a little nervous and that unnerved Ric slightly.

“Yup. Right here.” Ric sat up properly so the vampire could see him, noticing how Damon’s hand were plastered behind his back.  
What’s he up to now?

“Close your eyes.” Damon commanded softly, and Alaric shook his head fondly as he complied.  
The soft tone was reassuring in a way, but the fact that he still sounded like he was trembling seemed mildly suspicious.

“You’re not planning on sedating me or something, are you?” Ric teased as he heard Damon approaching the couch, smiling a little when his boyfriend sat down next to him.

The vampire gave a dramatic gasp at Alaric’s question.  
“I’m offended that you’d think I would do that, Ric.” Damon feigned an offended tone, but it wasn’t very convincing.

“Well you’ve killed me before, so I gotta make sure.” Ric felt Damon shift a little at that. He knows that’s kind of a touchy subject, but he tries to make light of it.

“And I’ll do it again if you don’t shut up.” Damon shot back, with no hint of venom or actual anger in his voice. It sounds quite fond, actually.

Ric almost spoke again, but kept his mouth shut, heeding Damon’s empty threat.  
Damon cleared his throat, moving around awkwardly on the couch so he could face Alaric properly.

“Consider these my...apology, I guess. Since you and I both know I suck at...talking and stuff...” He trailed off, cursing silently as he realized he was rambling again.  
“Just...open your eyes before I dig my own grave.” Damon finally gave the green light, so Ric let his eyes snap back open.

He laughed a little at what he saw his boyfriend holding.  
Flowers. A bouquet of various flowers.  
Wow. He must really feel bad about all this then.

“I’m not sure what you like. You’ve never told me. We’ve never talked about flowers at all, actually. We seriously need to communicate more Ric I mean-“

“Damon.” Ric said softly as his vampire rambled on, but it didn’t stop the train wreck of thoughts that Damon was babbling.

“-seriously it would probably help a lot if we just talked about this stuff. I like...wait I don’t know what kind of flowers I like. Shit. Is it too basic if I say roses? That’s basic, isn’t it? But I do like the simplicity of-“

“Damon!” Ric yelled this time, laughing a little at Damon’s surprised look. He placed his hand on his boyfriend’s shoulders, staring directly into those beautiful blue eyes with a soft smile.  
“Calm down.” He ordered softly, and the vampire nodded lightly  
“I love them. Don’t overthink it too much, okay?”

“You sure? Because I can take them back if you-“ The rest of Damon’s words were muffled by Ric’s lips, finally getting his brain to stop running wild and start short-circuiting instead.

Alaric kept the kiss light, not wanting to get too into it in case Damon ends up dropping the flowers or something.  
He pulled away slowly, causing Damon to whine softly at how short it was.

“Why’d you stop?” Damon asked softly, practically whispering against Ric’s lips.  
Alaric chuckled, pecking Damon’s lips quickly.

“Because I need to put these-“ Ric gently took the bouquet out of his boyfriend’s hands, getting not protest from the vampire at the action. “-away first. Then I’ll deal with you.”

Ric slipped off the couch before Damon could whine or complain, leaving the vampire alone on the couch as he searched for a vase to put the bouquet in.

Unsurprisingly, he doesn’t own any vases, but he has an old empty pitcher.  
That’ll work fine.  
Maybe.

He took his sweet time tending to the flowers, and he swore he could still feel Damon’s eyes on him.  
That would be impossible, considering there’s currently a wall between them, but still. His boyfriend is supernatural. He expects nothing but strangeness nowadays.

When he finally returned to the living room to tend to his poor, neglected boyfriend, he froze in the doorway.

Damon is slumped against the arm of the couch, eyes closed and no sign that he noticed Ric standing there.  
He’s asleep, isn’t he?  
He apparently just couldn’t wait any longer and decided to crash on the couch.

Ric shook his head, a fond chuckle escaping him.  
He’s dating an idiot. An adorable, impatient, over dramatic idiot.

He was tempted to carry Damon to his bed, but decided against it, not wanting to risk waking the vampire.  
So, he opted for plan B.

He grabbed the spare blanket off the back of the couch, wrapping it around Damon as best he could without moving him too much.

He sat down on the couch next to his sleeping lover, running his hand down the vampire’s back as he stared.  
It’s a sweet sight, in all honestly. Damon seems so fond of sleeping despite not needing it, and that alone is endearing to Ric in a weird way.  
Everything about Damon is cute in an incredibly weird way. But he’s accepted that by now.

It’s gotten so bad now, that even when Damon is being an absolute moron, Ric finds it endearing.  
His snark is now a good quality.  
His recklessness only makes Alaric grow fonder of him.  
His utter lack of self-awareness with flirting makes Ric jealous, but the apology kisses he gets afterwards make his heart flutter.

Damon stirred a little, but it was barely enough movement for Ric to want to pull his hand away.  
He settled rather quickly, sighing in his sleep as Ric continued to run his hand over the vampire’s back.

He took the moment to just think about the flowers.  
Such a little gesture, but it spoke volumes on Damon’s part. Ric always took him as more of the ‘affection through words’ type, but he’s quickly finding that Damon is kind of the opposite.  
While things like flowers only pop up when he feels guilty, there’s plenty of other things Damon likes to do.

Pancakes, for one. Cooking in general, actually. Damon loves to cook, much to the teacher’s surprise. And he’s pretty good at, for what it’s worth.  
He’s found Damon making them dinner more times than he can count, and it warms his heart every time.

There was one time where Damon left little notes for Ric around the house, eventually leading him to his ‘surprise birthday gift’.  
Of course, the gift was Damon. But he had been wearing a suit when Ric found him. And that was the first time Damon asked Alaric out on a date.  
Usually, Ric has to do all the preparations and convincing when it comes to dates.  
But that day marked the first time Damon took responsibility over everything.

So even if that bouquet just happens to contain Ric’s least favorite types of flowers, it still means the world to him.  
But maybe tomorrow he and Damon should talk about their favorite flowers. You know, just in case either of them feel like buying another bouquet for a date or something.  
It kinda helps the romantic aspect when you actually like the flowers you’re receiving, but the thought alone is usually good enough for the both of them.

All in all, Ric considers this a good enough apology.


	11. It’s A Maybe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ric’s headache and Damon’s boyfriend instincts lead to a rather interesting call.  
> Timeframe: Do I even have to answer at this point-  
> Category: Fluff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know. It’s another short one.  
> But I’m working on a longer one (I’m talking at least 4K words long because yeah) and this is just some filler fluff to get my inspiration kicked on for the night

Ric’s usual pre-class routine is pretty boring. Boring, but at least it’s not stressful.  
Today, however, everything feels like a chore, and on top of the headache he’s had since this morning.

Speaking of this morning...that was an entire chore in it’s own way.

Waking up with Damon, as usual, wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. But since his head has been pounding, Damon’s usual playful morning mood was more painful than anything.  
He had felt a little bad brushing his boyfriend off like. Bolting out of bed like he was repulsed or something.  
But it wasn’t Damon’s fault. And he’ll tell him that later once he’s done fussing over his class.

Which is in ten minutes now.  
Shit. He’s not ready for this.

The sound of his phone ringing was both extremely uncomfortable and a little nice.  
On one hand, it had his head pounding again.  
On the other, he needs a pep talk before the lesson.

He answered it quickly, opening his mouth to give his usual professional greeting when the person on the other end interjected.

“So how are the kids, oh lovely professor?”

Damon. Well this could either be amazing or soul crushing.

“Don’t know. Class hasn’t started yet.” Ric sighed, smiling nervously as if that was gonna help anything.

“How much time do you have?” Judging by Damon’s tone, he’s up for a full conversation, and Ric isn’t sure he can do that right now.

“Ten minutes at best.” He wasn’t trying to sound as put-out or annoyed as he did, but he can’t really help it.

“Good. That works for me.”  
Huh.  
Okay then...  
“Listen. I know you’ve got that headache and all but-“

“How do you know about my headache?” Ric interrupted, much to the vampire’s annoyance.  
He hadn’t told Damon what was wrong. He knew that his boyfriend would fuss over him if he did, so he kept quiet.  
Damon isn’t stupid though...so maybe it was more obvious than he thought.

“I’m your boyfriend, Ric. I know these things.”  
Well that’s a weird response. Vague, too. Definitely a Damon response though.  
“And I know if I offer my blood you’re gonna say you don’t want it...” Damon paused, and Ric nearly smarted off at him to disagree but didn’t have time.  
“...so I got you some good old modern medicine. Should be slightly less risky than vampire blood, right?”

“Damon...” Ric sighed again, affectionate this time.  
“I appreciate it. But I’ll take your blood.”

“Wait, really?” The excitement in his voice was too adorable to get irritated at, even it put Alaric in a little more pain at how loud it was.  
“But what am I gonna do with all this crap now!?” Damon masked the honor he was feeling with snark as usual.  
But truth be told, he does feel kinda special. Ric’s been more open to vampire stuff as a whole lately, which is development in it’s own way.  
He’s never been particularly turned-off to it, but he usually doesn’t take Damon’s blood for something as small as this.

“Just put it in the bathroom or something.” Ric chuckled, already feeling a little better. His head still hurts a little, but it’ll probably have subsided by the time he’s done with the lesson.  
Even so, he’ll take Damon’s blood anyways. He doesn’t wanna let his boyfriend down after hearing his clear excitement.

“Can I ask you one more thing?” Damon’s tone was a little softer, more cautious, and Ric felt briefly worried.

“Fire away.”

“Would you ever reconsider turning...?” Damon sounded unsure, which was a far cry from how he usually is about this topic.  
He’s not being pushy.  
He’s asking a genuine question without any of his usual sarcastic remarks.

So Ric decided to answer genuinely this time too.  
“Maybe. I’ll have to think about it.”

“Maybe?” That excited tone was coming back, and Ric smiled.  
“So it’s not a ‘no’ anymore?”

“It’s not yes, either.” Ric reminded the vampire softly.  
“But it’s not a no.”

“Great! A-amazing!” Damon was in that flustered mode where he didn’t quite know what to say, so Ric decided to spare him this time around and start ending the call.

“I’ve got about a minute before the lesson starts. Talk to you about it later?” Ric winced a little when it took Damon a second to respond.

“Sure! Yeah! I-I can meet you at the college later if you want.”

“No no it’s okay I’ll just drive to your place, okay?”

“Yeah that works too.”

“Okay. I’m gonna hang up now.”

“Have fun with the kids, handsome.”

Ric hung up without another word, resting the urge to slip an ‘I love you’ in there.  
They’ll get there eventually, but Ric wants Damon to start saying it back before he takes it too far.

As the room began to fill up, and Ric realize it was time to switch back into a more professional mode, he couldn’t stop thinking about that call.

And thinking about that, surprisingly enough, kept his headache at bay.

•

When Ric hung up, Damon immediately tossed his phone halfway across the room, watching it land on the couch.  
He’s happy.  
Way too giddy and excited to give a care about anything.

The whole ‘I’ll drink your blood’ thing was riveting enough.  
It’s not necessarily the idea of Ric sucking on his wrist that excites him, but the amount of stability it would take for Ric to say that.  
He’s secure enough with Damon to trust him not to snap his neck and turn him on the spot.  
And THAT feels like an honor. In a weird, vampiric sort of way, of course.

But then Ric changing his previously quite obvious answer to turning-which previously had been a definite no-to a maybe?  
That was the true highlight of his day.

He knows how much Ric loves his humanity.  
But he knows how much Ric loves him, too. And maybe he’s finally starting to out-way being a human.  
Getting to spend the rest of eternity with Ric would be the most amazing experience of his very extended life.

Although he won’t necessarily be mad if Ric doesn’t end up turning, he would really love to not have a deadline on their love.  
No obligations.  
No worries about what will happen once Ric is gone.  
Just pure supernatural bliss until the end of time. Or until they get so sick of the world that they Romeo and Juliet it.  
Either way, it seems perfect.

As Damon flops down on the couch, basking in his own burst of happiness, he can’t help but wonder one thing.

How did he get this lucky?


	12. Dancing’s Not a Crime (Dalaric Edition)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damon drags Alaric to a college party on Soph’s behalf.  
> What could possibly go wrong?  
> Timeframe: Not sure because this actually is a canon thing in my AU and I haven’t figured out a set timeline yet-  
> Category: Fluff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I projected onto Alaric so hard in this fic  
> And the title is named the way it is because I already named a Drugcon fic the same thing but because I’m  
> ✨not creative✨  
> I couldn’t think of a better title than a fricken P!ATD song but anYWAYS

Another day, another one of Damon’s ‘brilliant’ ideas.

After Soph practically begged for Ric and Damon to give him ‘moral support’ at this party or whatever, the vampire cracked, and has been dead-set on giving Soph the needed support.  
Ric, on the other hand, is much less enthusiastic about this whole thing. He loves his students, he truly does, but going to a college party as a professor is just awkward. For Damon though, it’s easy as pie. He fits right in with the rest of them.

And that’s one of the things Alaric hates the most.  
How easily Damon fits in. How anyone and everyone can look at him like he’s a piece of meat and try to drag him into bed. All the flirting is starting to get annoying, too.  
He knows Damon doesn’t mean to hurt him with it. Flirting is just second-nature to the vampire. He’s not exactly used to being in a committed relationship.  
But it still stings whenever he sees his boyfriend getting a little too personal with somebody.

And at a party like the one they’re planning on going to, there’s plenty of opportunities for boundaries to be pushed.  
Especially since Damon loves dancing more than anything else-yes, even more than the free alcohol-at parties. And with how wild it will inevitably get, he hates to think of how easily someone could swoop in on Damon.  
The vampire can handle himself. He’s stronger than anyone else who will be at that party. But would he even notice if someone got a little too handsy with him?

He chooses not to think about that idea for too long.

“Do we seriously have to go to some stupid party?” Ric grumbled, watching Damon get dressed with much less enthusiasm than usual.

“That’s supposed to be my line, Ric”. Damon didn’t look back at Alaric as he spoke, still rummaging around for his jacket that he somehow misplaced.  
Seriously, how did he lose THAT? He’s always wearing it!  
“And yes, we have to. I promised that I would.”

Ric snickered a little at that.  
“Look at you. Keeping your word. Should I be proud or concerned?” While the sarcasm was still heavy in his tone, he was a little bit proud of Damon.  
Yeah, he’s not excited to be around a bunch of screaming, drunk college students. But on the bright side, it’s some development on the vampire’s part.

Damon couldn’t help it anymore.  
Within seconds, he was in Ric’s lap, staring him down, not sure if he wanted to intimidate him or flirt with him.  
“Both.” He responded with a smirk, mildly regretting his position because he knows for a fact he doesn’t have the willpower to move now.

Ric didn’t respond to that, instead giving Damon a quick once-over.  
And that’s when he noticed something...different.  
“Leather pants? Really?” He had meant to look back at Damon as he spoke, but his eyes were fixed on the very new looking pants.  
When, why, and how did he get ahold of those? Actually, he doesn’t care. They look good. That’s all that matters.

“Do you like ‘em?” Judging by his tone Damon didn’t actually care about Ric’s response, but somewhere deep down he wanted Ric to say yes.  
That extra validation would mean a whole lot more to him that the teacher thinks.

“Yeah, actually...” Ric finally moved his hands to Damon’s waist, smiling as his eyes met the vampire’s at last. “...they suit you.”  
He didn’t mention the way Damon’s eyes lit up at that, but he noticed it. 

“Good. They were expensive.” Damon brushed off his appreciation as usual, but still felt the need to give Ric a quick peck on the lips.

It took a moment for Damon to say anything else, seemingly lost in Ric’s eyes for a bit as he just...stared.  
When he finally realized he had spaced out, of course he tried to play it off.

“Now get up and get changed. We have a party to crash.” He gave Ric a quick grin before he managed to speed away.  
Into the...bathroom? Okay, that has Ric confused, but he can roll with it.

The teacher sighed before sitting up, rolling his eyes fondly when he heard Damon drop something and proceed to insult whatever it was.  
Such an idiot...

•

After a while of switching shirts, hating absolutely hating the idea of going to this party, and finally resigning himself to his fate, Ric managed to look somewhat presentable.

No sooner than he had straightened himself up as well as he possibly could, he heard Damon’s footsteps behind him.  
With a deep breath, he began turning to the vampire.

“Okay I think I’m r-“ He stopped himself when his eyes actually landed on his boyfriend.  
Now he knows exactly what he had been doing in the bathroom.

“What’s the matter? Vamp got your tongue?” Damon teased, leaning against the wall nonchalantly like he didn’t look absolutely gorgeous.  
He knows he looks stunning, so he doesn’t need to acknowledge it.  
Ric, on the other hand...

“Did you...is that...” The teacher was at a loss for words, staring blankly at Damon with an almost unreadable expression.  
Not knowing exactly what he was thinking made the vampire squirm a little, but he didn’t let himself crumble.

“Yup. Stole it from blondie a while back. I think I look pretty good.”

Ric had no words.  
This marks the first time he’s ever seen Damon in eyeliner. According to Stefen, Damon used to actually be quite fond of it, but for some reason he stopped using it.  
Now though, he’s basking in the glory of finally putting it on again.  
And Ric...oh he’s basking in it, that’s for sure.

“Do you think we could be a little late to the party?” Ric’s voice sounded a little strained, like he was struggling to speak.  
Damon grinned, knowing full-well what his boyfriend was hinting at, but remained still.  
When Damon didn’t move, Alaric decided to take matters into his own hands, practically pouncing on Damon once he finally reached the vampire.

When Ric finally eased up and let Damon’s lips free, he gave his usual teasing response  
“Easy there, buddy. You can do whatever you want to me after that party. Deal?”

Ric looked reluctant, probably silently cursing Damon for not letting him have his way, but he eventually caved.  
“Deal...”

•

“You ready for this?” Ric asked as they got out of Damon’s car, the nervousness already building and pooling in him.

“I was born ready.” Damon responded with a smirk, closing the car door as dramatically as possible.  
Ric shook his head, half-fondly and half-‘why the hell am I doing this?’.

“You guys made it!”   
Both of them men turned to see Soph standing at the front door, smiling excitedly. He looked wayyy to formal for a party like this one, but neither Damon nor Alaric commented on it for his sake.

“What can I say? I’m a man of my word...” Damon slung an arm around Soph’s shoulders as he spoke. “...sometimes.” He added, just to clarify.  
Soph rolled his eyes but smiled, nervously looking back inside the house.

“So where’s your girlfriend?” Ric put on his best nonchalant smile.

“Inside. I told her I was waiting for you two before I went inside...” Soph trailed off, eyes still fixed on the wide-open door, scanning through the crowds for any sign of his girlfriend.

“Did you say that because you actually wanted to wait? Or because you haven’t been invited in?” Damon jabbed lightly, removing his arm around the younger vampire’s shoulders.

“No!” Soph protested instantly, only fueling Damon’s amusement. “I’ve been invited in. I just...feel more comfortable being in there with you two.” The sincerity in his voice made Damon back down, but only a little.

“Well are we just gonna stand here then?” Ric chimes in, urging them to just get inside and get this over with.  
Soph gave him a nervous, half-hearted smile, before stepping into the house.

The two men had to wait at the door for a bit while Soph compelled the house’s owner to invite them in, but eventually they crossed the threshold.

“No going back now.” Damon said to Ric as they stepped inside, that mischievous smirk still plastered on his face.  
Before Ric could protest, Soph interjected.

“I’m gonna go find Lia. You two behaves yourselves, okay?” Soph spoke as if he was their elder or something, and directed the sarcastic comment mostly at Damon.  
The olde vampire just rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah shortie. Go rock the dance floor.” Damon shoved at the younger vamp gently, and Soph left without another word or protest to the obligatory height insult.

Ric was barely aware of that entire exchange, his mind and heart racing in unison.  
He hates parties like these.  
Too many bad memories of hangovers and awkward make out sessions in stranger’s bedrooms.

“Now that that’s out of the way...” Damon turned to Ric with that signature dangerous smirk of his, and the teacher felt a shiver run through him at the sight.  
Somehow he looked even more like he was scheming now than he had when they entered.

“Whatever you’re planning-“

“Just shut up and let me show you.” Damon interrupted, grabbing Ric’s hand to tug him along.  
Where exactly he’s dragging him to? Ric has absolutely no idea.

The music is so loud that Ric can barley hear himself think, let alone be able to understand Damon if he was talking right now.  
So he’s just assuming the vampire is silent.

Damon moved through the crowd of party-goers quite easily, nearly forgetting that he can’t use his vamp-speed here.  
Ric tried his best to stay focused, but eventually went almost limp, just letting Damon drag him along. Luckily, his boyfriend didn’t seem to mind doing all the work here.  
One of the many bonuses of being a vampire: You can drag your human boyfriend around a party with ease.

When Damon stopped, Ric took a moment to process where they were.  
It’s not exactly that different. But there’s a lot more dancing and way too many people. More people then Ric had expected, at least.  
Why are they here?

“Damon what-“

“Welcome to the dance floor, Ric.” Damon grinned, and the realization hit Alaric like a train.  
Damon dragged him over here to dance? Seriously? He knows Ric can’t dance to save his life

And suddenly it’s way too much.  
The music, the people, everything.  
Ric nearly has a panic attack on the spot. He’s not good at this. He can’t do this, not even in private, but the public setting makes it even worse.

“Damon you know I can’t.” He tries to sound assertive, but it comes out much softer than he has intended.  
The look Damon gives him only further proves that his voice is way too shaky right now.

“Nervous?” Damon asked like it wasn’t completely obvious. Ric supposes he should be thankful that the vampire is being patient, but the question went right through him.

“Yeah a little...” Ric mumbled, knowing that despite the loud environment Damon could probably hear him. Vamp hearing and all.  
‘A little’ is the understatement of the century. He’s ready to have a full-on heart attack right about now.

“Ric, your heart sounds like it’s going to explode.” Damon saw right through the teacher. Again, vamp hearing. What a simultaneously wonderful and horrible thing. “We don’t have to if you don’t-“

“No, no.” Why is he saying no? Damon just gave him out! Damon never gives him outs on stuff like this unless he literally begs for it. “Let’s just...do it”.  
He can add this moment to the ‘times I did something incredibly stupid for the love of my life’ list.

The grin that Damon gave him made his anxiety fade a little, though.

Damon started up almost immediately. And in that moment, it looked to Ric like Damon truly does belong here. In the middle of all this. Having the time of his life and moving like he has absolutely no cares at all.  
If only Ric could join in.  
Damon shot him an expecting look, waiting for Alaric to move but he just froze. Tensing and panicking a little. He feels like everyone is watching him, even though he knows they couldn’t care less.  
He feels sick. Or like he’s gonna pass out. Or both. He just wants to go home.

How does he even go about doing this? Actually, the more important question is how does Damon do this?  
He’s a natural at it. Like he was built for this sort of thing and Alaric can’t wrap his head around it.  
He can’t get lost in it like Damon can. The music isn’t helping him in the slightest. If anything, the atmosphere is just making it worse. Harder to focus.  
But maybe that’s the point.

Damon, seeming to have picked up on the fear slowly consuming his boyfriend, grabbed Ric’s hand to snap him out of his panicked daze.  
He leaned up to the hunter’s ear, smiling as he whispered.  
“Just let go, Ric.” 

Well that’s easier said than done.  
Ric sighed, closing his eyes for a second.  
He can’t believe he’s actually doing this.

Just as he expected, he was embarrassingly bad at finding a rhythm. Everything he did felt wrong and his usual confidence he add whenever he was giving a lesson or something was absent.  
Slow dancing would’ve been a cake walk. Yeah, he still sucks at that, but at least he’s had more practice.  
But this? This is just weird movements that have no real reason behind them.  
And again, maybe that’s the point. But it’s a point Ric just can’t get.

But at some point, he’s not quite sure when, Damon started helping him. Guiding him and coaxing Ric into moving with him.  
Alaric reflexively wrapped his arms around the vampire when he got closer, expecting Damon to move away but surprisingly he seemed fine with it.

He let Damon pull him in for a kiss.  
Usually, something this intimate in a place so chaotic would be to reign Ric in.  
But this time it felt more like he was telling Ric to let loose. Stop thinking and start moving.  
The familiarity in the midst of such a foreign concept to the teacher seemed to be the key, because at last Alaric relaxed a bit.

He applies his usual, more private logic to this situation. That kiss reminded him of something kinda important about himself.  
Instead of trying to focus on everything or nothing, he focused on just one thing.  
Damon.  
His anchor. The focal point of this whole crowded room.  
When he focuses on Damon, and let’s the rest of the world melt away, he’s fine with giving in. He’s perfectly okay with letting himself drift.

And suddenly there’s nobody else. There’s nobody bumping against them.  
It’s just them and the music. The obnoxiously loud music that Ric decides to tune out as well.  
He doesn’t need it.  
He can work with Damon well enough without the annoying beat.

He found his rhythm. He found out how to move by going with his gut and following along with Damon.  
And that seemed to satisfy the vampire well enough. He seemed significantly happier with Ric moving with him, and the hunter didn’t even think that was possible.  
To the outside world, Damon seems to be the happiest when he’s dancing.  
But that’s his coverup. Because his little secret is that, no matter what the situation is, he’s happiest with Ric.  
He loves dancing too, don’t get him wrong, but his love for it is only amplified when he’s got his boyfriend here with him.

He didn’t think it was possible to feel this good without the aid of vampire blood or alcohol, but he’s yet again been proven wrong.

Damon was a little caught off guard when Ric suddenly snaked his arms around the vampire’s waist, but adjusted to it rather easily.  
There was a few minutes of blissful, completely thoughtless movement.

But Damon couldn’t hold himself back much longer.  
He flipped around in Ric’s arms, tugging him forward and pulling him in for a kiss neither of them had really planned for.  
Damon isn’t even sure what he’s doing at this point, much like the professor.  
It’s mindless in the best way possible. Slow, gentle movements contrasting their previous, more spontaneous and erratic ones.

Ric didn’t realize how much he needed that sensation until it was gone. The sort of calming affect that Damon’s lips had was something that had him shaken to the core the first time he felt it.  
Because Damon is the complete opposite of calming. He’s a reckless, energetic idiot. And Ric was sure he was incapable of such gentle gestures.  
Oh, how wrong he was.

Sadly, the calming affect pulled Ric straight back to reality, giving him a little whiplash.  
“Can we leave yet...?” Ric asked softly, still holding Damon as he refused to let go of him.

“Yeah...that sounds good to me.” Damon grinned back, but not with his usual devilish smirk.  
It’s been a long while since they first started dating, and Alaric is still getting used to that softer look...he probably won’t ever be over it.

No time to overthink it too much, though.  
They have a party to escape from.

•

They didn’t tell anyone that they left. Soph didn’t seem to need their support anymore, and nobody else really cared that they were there in the first place.  
Even if they did care, Ric doubts he would’ve been able to stop Damon from dragging him out anyways.

The way back to the Salvatore house was rough, to say the least.  
While they had spent their entire journey out of the party making out like teenagers whenever they could, having to actually focus on driving home was an absolute pain.  
But in the end, they both got the satisfaction they needed.

Which leads us to now. With the two of them laying in bed as usual, Damon entranced by the beating of Alaric’s heart and Ric equally lost in Damon’s gorgeous features.

“Do you think anyone has noticed we left yet?” Damon’s own voice sounded strange to him. They’ve been laying in silence, just enjoying each other’s company for so long he forgot he could speak.

“Probably not...” Ric mumbled, still caught up almost completely in Damon, running his fingers through the vampire’s hair.  
Damon hummed in agreement, closing his eyes as a sign that the conversation was officially over.

“Hey Ric...?” The vampire spoke again despite seeming ready to shut up. Ric would’ve made a joke or something at his indecisiveness, but refrained because of his boyfriend’s softer tone.

“Yeah?”

“I love you...”

Ric, once again, was at a loss for words. That’s been happening to him a lot today...  
But this? This is the most important and justified time.  
Damon has never dropped the L word yet. Ric’s said it a few times, but Damon has dodged it for a while.

He nearly cried right then and there.

“I love you too.” Ric managed out as he held himself back from full-on sobbing, and the need to Fru was only heightened when Damon smiled against his neck.

He had expected Damon to speak again.  
But he didn’t.  
He just smiled. Safe and comfortable in his boyfriend’s arms.  
He knew Ric’s heartbeat was going absolutely crazy, but he didn’t comment on it.

He drifted off into a calm, blissful sleep. Equally as blissfully unaware of Alaric watching him with the biggest grin he’s ever mustered.

•

Ric woke the next morning before Damon, as usual. Although he had a sneaking suspicion the vampire was just faking it, he rolled with it anyways.  
He carefully grabbed his phone off the nightstand, giving a lightly concerned look when he saw the little notification on the screen.  
It’s from Soph. Of course.

He put his phone back without reading the text, already having a pretty good idea of what it said.  
He doesn’t feel like typing an explanation right now. His role-model brain isn’t on.  
If he texted back now, it would probably sound way too casual for a student-teacher exchange.

Really though, at this point, Soph and the rest of his friends are basically family.  
They’re all part of this messed up supernatural life too. Hell, he and Damon could probably pass all of them off as their kids anyways.  
Soph looks vaguely enough like Ric.  
CTC could be a miniature Damon.  
And Noel fits right in as well.  
The snake-Harvest, as they named her-is along for the ride, but Ric has never been opposed to reptiles.

So maybe ‘professional’ conversations with them should be old news by now.

“Are you just gonna sit there or...?”  
Yup. Damon is awake.  
Ric couldn’t help but chuckle a little.

“Needy much?” Ric teased him affectionately, going back to playing with the vampire’s hair, earning a pleased sigh from that.

“Very much...” Damon mumbled, still half-asleep and dozing off quickly.  
Ric continued to shower him in sweet words and affection long after he had fallen asleep again, unwilling to leave the bed even though he was admittedly kinda hungry.

Food can wait.  
Right now he has to tend to his boyfriend’s needs.


	13. The Sweater

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on an inside joke with the LPHC:  
> Damon is lonely and Ric has postponed date night yet again. Luckily, there might be a temporary solution to the vampire’s misery.  
> Timeframe: Are you really expecting an answer at this point?  
> Category: Fluff. Nothing but pure fluff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a therapy fic for many reasons which include but are not limited to:  
> 1\. ✨Gender dysphoria being a punk✨  
> 2\. S8 makes me wanna die  
> 3\. I had to do two exams today and am currently brain dead because of them

Alaric is late.  
Very, very late. And Damon is getting sick of waiting on him.  
They were supposed to have a nice, romantic getaway sort of night after Ric got off work but...it doesn’t look like that’ll be happening.

He practically flew to grab his phone when he saw it light up, quickly skimming over the notification without even opening the text.  
As he expected, it was just Ric letting him know they’d have to postpone date night.  
Again.

He didn’t bother responding.  
He didn’t even open the message.  
He tossed his phone aside, groaning with a mix of annoyance and pure boredom.

Nobody is free tonight. Everyone is out doing their own thing, including Stefan, and Damon is all alone.  
He briefly considered grabbing his phone again to try and talk to Ric anyways, but he doesn’t feel like it. Besides, if he’s too busy for date night, he’s probably too busy for small talk.

If there’s one thing Damon hates in this world more than being degraded, it’s boredom.  
He never used to get bored. He always had some stupid stunt he could pull to keep him occupied.  
Now though? He has nothing to do. Because he has to be responsible. Committed relationship, turning over a new leaf, blah blah blah...

He wants to do good. He really, really does.  
But being a decent person is just so hard. No mass-murder sprees, not draining some poor helpless woman of all her delicious blood.  
And worst of all?  
No partying without permission. Unless he wants to dance alone, which would just look sad on his part.

He’s still deciding wether or not he loves or hates the ‘new Damon’.  
But Ric likes this new version, so he’ll stick with it.  
For now, anyways.

Aside from complaining about being treated like a damn child in his own home, Damon is running out of things to think about.  
Great. Now he’s REALLY bored.

And then he caught something out of the corner of his eye.  
The slightest sliver of white poking out from one of his half-closed drawers.  
And he grins, for he can’t help himself.

He knows exactly what that little white tease is.

He didn’t bother using his vamp speed to get to the drawer, taking his time approaching it.  
He tugged the white fabric out of it’s prison with ease, smiling as he held it up in front of him.  
One of Ric’s sweaters. Specifically, the white one that Damon is very, very fond of. Ric looks stunning in it. But the teacher just so happened to have left it in Damon’s room a while back and...  
Well, you know Damon. Couldn’t pass up the opportunity to keep it for himself.

He’ll give it back...maybe. Eventually. Because he would like to see Ric wear it again.  
But it’s hands down the most comfortable thing Alaric owns, which also means it’s the most comfortable thing Damon is ‘borrowing’.  
There’s more perks to keeping it than just the comfort factor, though. The most important being that it was Ric’s. Meaning not only does it smell like him, but practically feels like him at this point.

And Damon, as hard he tried to refrain, couldn’t help himself.  
He discarded his usual black shirt in favor of the sweater, hoping this would bring him some sort of comfort.

Truth be told, he doesn’t usually do stuff like this. Last time he wore his partner’s shirt was...hell, he can’t even remember when, or if he’s ever even done this at all.  
Out of all the developments that is relationship with Ric has brought, this need to have his boyfriend, or at least something of his boyfriend’s, with him at all times is probably the newest.  
His attachment to Ric is stronger than it’s been to anyone in the past, surpassing even Katherine.

He flopped back down onto the bed with a happy hum, basking in the feeling of Alaric’s sweater.  
He’s still bored, but this definitely helps ease the lonely feeling a little.  
It would be better if Ric was actually, ya know, HERE...but he’ll take what he can get.

His mind began wandering a little again, going back specifically to a remark Caroline had made the other day about him being ‘needy’.  
He’s not needy!  
...  
Okay, maybe he’s a little bit needy...but he isn’t that bad! It’s not his fault that Ric is practically begging to be smothered in his undying affection. And it’s not his fault that he also would like to be showered with the teacher’s love, especially in a moment like this one.

He hasn’t seen Ric all day and it’s driving him crazy.  
He needs his kisses. Even a simple hug would do at this point. But he is practically begging for Ric to walk through the front door and hold him.  
Ugh...when did he go all soft? He’s not used to being so desperate for CUDDLES of all things, but oh boy, is he ever desperate.

...

Okay, maybe he’s way needier than he thought. But that doesn’t mean-

“Damon?”

Damon practically flew off the bed he was so startled, but managed to control himself somewhat.  
And, much to his surprise, there stood Ric. Standing in the doorway like an angel sent to grant Damon’s desperate prayers for some fricken hand-holding.

Damon cleared his throat as he composed himself, leaning on the pillows as casually as he could.  
“Ric? I thought you weren’t gonna make it?”

“Yeah, well...” Ric paused, smiling a little as he glanced at the ground. When his eyes flicked back to the vampire, his smile only grew. “...I may have speed-graded some essays.”

Damon laughed a little at that, not really knowing how to respond.  
Luckily, he wouldn’t have to, as Ric opened his mouth to speak again.  
As Ric started up again, Damon’s mind was on a constant loop of silent pleas for Ric to offer to join him on the bed.  
He’s not even trying to seduce him despite the opportunity being perfect.  
For the love of all things vampiric he just wants to be held. And doted on. And flirted with in the most wholesome way possible and damn it seriously when did he start craving this?!

“Are you wearing my sweater?” Ric questioned, and that wasn’t exactly what the vampire had been expecting.  
But he can roll with it.

“Yup.” He responded without hesitation, grinning proudly at himself.  
Hey, maybe to some stealing your significant other’s shirt is easy, but to Damon it was a whole novel’s worth of a journey with wayyy too many bumps in the road.

Ric shook his head, clearly trying to hold back a chuckle as he approached Damon.  
As he sat down next to the vampire-which immediately caused Damon to sit up as well, even if laying was more comfortable-he spoke again.  
“I can’t tell if that’s adorable or horrifying...” He mumbled, his hand lightly brushing against Damon’s. And that might have been the cruelest tease Ric has ever been able to muster.

Damon wanted to fire back with a witty remark, but was a little distracted by Ric’s hand.  
Oh, screw it. He’s had enough of this waiting game.

He forced himself to lean in slowly as to not give Ric the wrong idea, moving a hand up to cup the teacher’s cheek gently as he sealed their lips.  
Alaric was still only for a moment, managing to adjust quickly and get his arms slowly wrapped around his boyfriend.

Damon’s mind felt like it was on fire. He’s needed this all damn day.  
He never wants it to end. If Ric would just turn, they could do this forever.  
He’s already melted into it. He’s not exactly sure when they ended up laying down again, but they’re here. His arms are wrapped securely around Ric’s neck as he refuses to break the kiss.

It inevitably had to end, because of course Ric needs to breath, but he broke it off with a breathy chuckle.  
“You’re more mellow than usual.” While usually that might sound like a light tease, it sounded more fond than anything.

“Don’t overthink it too much.” Damon cautioned. “Cuz you won’t get this side very often.” His tone did nothing to prove that statement in the slightest.  
Ric gave him an unconvinced look.

“Mhmm. Sure.”  
Ric knows all too well that Damon has already had plenty of days like this. Where his playful, more arrogant and predatory side is exchanged for his softer, still a little arrogant but more content side.  
He likes this side a lot. He likes both of Damon’s moods equally, actually.  
The snarky, jerk persona is cute in it’s own annoying way.  
While this teddy-bear, snuggly side is more traditionally adorable.

“Caught your breath yet?” Damon asked after a few more moments of silence, almost whispering at this point.

“Wow. That was almost subtle.” Ric teased, but wasn’t in the mood to ruin Damon’s fluffy attitude just yet. So naturally, before the vampire could get a word in, he pulled him back in for another slow kiss.

Damon is seriously starting to wonder if this is what heaven feels like.   
Even if he never gets to experience peace in his afterlife, at least he has heaven on earth for now. Ric might just be an angel. That would suit him quite a lot, actually. And would help things make a lot more sense.  
His patience with Damon is only something a supernatural-or celestial, however you wanna phrase it-being could muster. And his constant tenderness is nothing short of inhuman. Inhuman in the best way possible, of course.

And then Damon remembered something that blew the theory out of the water.   
Because if angels are real, then one certainly wouldn’t have been sent to Damon Salvatore of all people.  
If there is a heaven, that whole place probably despises him.

Best not to dwell on it though.  
He’s got his own little slice of heaven to bask in right now.


	14. Just Hangin Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ric’s alone time gets interrupted. But should he reallt he surprised at this point?  
> Timeframe: Time is a government drone  
> Category: Fluff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have some pure fluff to get me back in the swing of writing these (just finished TVD and I’m not afraid to admit that I nearly cried, but in the process, I got a lot of Dalaric ideas so 👁👁)

The smell of fresh, clean air becomes surprisingly rare when you spend most of your time in bars and cleaning up blood.  
The calm, pure breeze is a weird new form of therapy to Alaric.

No vampires, no supernatural nonsense.  
Just him, the outdoors, and a good book.

Granted, he does miss Damon a little. Last count he had though, the vampire was off with Stefan doing...something.  
He’s not sure what exactly. Damon had refused to reveal his ‘master plan’ before he left.

But at the same time, he doesn’t have to focus on anything but his book. It’s just some extremely boring novel he found under his bed, but he’s grown to enjoy even the most mundane books nowadays.

There’s something that’s still bothering him though.  
A thought lingering in the back of his mind, seemingly haunting him. And he doesn’t know wether to feel excited or horrified at the idea.

Turning.

Damon wants him to turn. That much is obvious. He’s not been overly vocal about it, but he clearly does want to spend an eternity with Ric.  
But turning itself is a scary topic. The process is gruesome enough, but then there’s the other possibility that Ric is deathly afraid of.  
If Damon ends up doing something stupid again, and the worst happens...Ric will have to spend eternity without him. The whole reason he turned would be null and void.  
Sure, at that point, he could probably just stake himself to be with Damon...but he knows the vampire wouldn’t want him to do that.

Nobody ever said loving a vampire would be an easy task, though.  
Quite the opposite, actually.

Ric was snapped out of his thoughts by the sudden, spine-chilling feeling of being watched.  
Although his paranoia was screaming at him to grab a stake or prepare to take off, he knew somewhere inside him that this wasn’t a threat. Somehow, even when he can’t directly see them, he knows when those beautiful blue eyes are looking at him.

“Damon.” Ric sighed, affectionate but just a little confused.  
His confusion only grew when he shuffled around to face the vampire, seeing his boyfriend dangling upside down in front of him.  
“What are you doing?”

Damon shrugged, which was a little harder considering he’s dangling from a tree, but he managed.  
“Just hangin’ out.” He grinned at his own joke, but Ric didn’t seem as amused.

“You’re gonna fall, you know.” The teacher cautioned, smiling uncontrollably when Damon started pouting.

“I will not.” Damon scoffed. “I’m a vampire, Ric. I have years of experience doing this.” Damon protested with little confidence behind his words, and the hunter quirked a brow at him.  
“Look, if you’re so worried about me falling, then just kiss me already so I can get down sooner.”

“A kiss? Really? That’s what this is about?” Ric chuckled a little, but could see the dead-serious look in Damon’s eyes.  
“Fine.”

Before Damon could smart off again, Ric managed to get a hand on the back of his head, pulling the vampire forward for the best kiss he could manage at this angle.  
Admittedly, it was kind of a mess, but Damon seemed satisfied.

Damon gave a soft hum when Ric pulled away, looking as content as he could be in that moment.  
“See? Easy. Told you I wouldn’t fa-“

The sound of a branch snapping cut through the air, and Alaric barely had time to move out of the way before Damon cane crashing down with a pained noise.  
Of course, with his vampire healing the pain went away swiftly, but it still hurt like hell on impact.

“Ow...” He groaned, even after the pain had somewhat subsided.  
He was vaguely aware of someone laughing.  
Ric. Ric is laughing.  
“Yeah yeah. Laugh it up. It’s not like I’m in pain or anything.” He grumbled, a hint of actual bitterness in his tone.

“First of all, you and I both know you’re healed by now.” Ric shot back between his laughter, earning a swift glare from his boyfriend.”  
“And c’mon! That was great!” His laughter was spurred on by Damon chucking the broken branch far into the distance, something that probably shouldn’t have been as funny as it seemed.  
But this whole situation is just too damn good for Ric not to have a laugh at.

Damon shook his head, clearly fighting off his own smile but managed to keep his annoyed glare.  
“Just shut up already.” The vampire grumbled, and Ric’s laughter slowed for a second.

“Only if you make me.” Alaric challenged, knowing full-well that would get him a smirk from his boyfriend.

“Fine.”

Within the blink of an eye, Damon was directly in front of Ric, nearly in his lap but just far enough away to tease the hunter.  
Ric didn’t even realize he was holding his breath until that familiar light-headed feeling kicked in.

“Are you gonna kiss me or...?” Ric questioned, glancing away for a second. Damon’s eyes may be drop-dead-gorgeous, but they hold an intensity that can be kinda overwhelming.

The vampire grinned at that, never letting his gaze stray away from his boyfriend as he spoke  
“Nope.”

“Oh, screw you!” Ric groaned, shoving at Damon half-heartedly. Damon shoved back with considerably more force-although he couldn’t really help it, vampire strength and all-nearly knocking Ric over.

“Later, professor. Not in the mood right now.” Damon added a small wink for emphasis, to which Alaric rolled his eyes.

Ric grabbed his book again, forcing back a smile when Damon scooted you against him.  
“Remind me again why I’m dating you?” He made a point not to look at Damon as he spoke, knowing if he did he’d probably end up forgetting the book again.

“Honestly? I have no idea.” The vampire sighed, relaxing into his boyfriend further.

As silence fell over them again, Ric relatives something.  
The fresh air is even better when he has one of the world’s most beautiful men right next to him.  
Okay, so maybe the air has mixed a little with a smell that Ric honestly can only describe as ‘just Damon’. Seriously, he’s not quite sure what exactly the vampire smells like. It’s weird. Maybe it’s a supernatural thing...

But the point is that, even though he can’t seem to focus on his book anymore due to Damon, that feeling of comfort has only been amplified since his boyfriend interrupted his alone time.

At times like these, Damon almost seems completely human. You wouldn’t be able to tell that he’s done anything remotely horrible.  
The worst you could probably infer would be that he maybe shoplifted once or twice, but that’s about it.  
He looks peaceful. Content, even. Like his world isn’t burning around him and every day isn’t a struggle to keep his humanity intact.

When Ric does spare a glance at him every now and then, he doesn’t see a vampire. He doesn’t even see the Damon Salvatore he’s grown to know.  
He’s not tensed up and closed off. He isn’t smarting off or making empty threats.  
He’s just...Damon. Leaning against Ric with his eyes closed like he’s taking the best nap of his life.

It’s the moments like these where Alaric nearly forgets that Damon is technically dead.  
Minus the slow heartbeat, everything about him seems perfectly and utterly human.  
And truth be told, he almost FEELS human too.


	15. Photos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Should we even be surprised at this point that Damon has weird habits?  
> Timeframe: I swear I’ll figure out how time in this AU works eventually  
> Category: Fluff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short one to get my motivation up and running again- (also there’s a hint to the next fic in here sooooo)  
> Also hi Dawnsummer sorry I keep vanishing hopefully you’re still here but if not I get it because I am slOW

Alaric couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. In other circumstances, it would be unsettling, but he’s ninety percent sure he knows the source this time.  
Considering there’s a severe lack of Damon in his arms, and he’s in the vampire’s bed, he can venture to guess that it’s probably his boyfriend being stupid again.  
Adorably stupid, but stupid nonetheless.

He didn’t open his eyes as he just laid there, contemplating how he should confront this.  
“Damon...” He sighed, opening his eyes just a little. Upon opening them, he saw Damon hastily hide something behind his back, fumbling a little.  
Ric was able to see due to Damon’s clumsiness that it was his phone. Why would he be hiding that? Probably just another thing Alaric can pass off as ‘Damon being Damon’.

“Hm?” Damon hummed as innocently as possible, but his fake grin portrayed nothing but mischief.

“Why are you up? It’s...” Ric huffed as he glanced at the window behind him.  
Definitely still dark outside. He only wishes he knew what time it was, but just settling on using the lack of sunlight will have to do.  
“...really late.”

“Not really.” Damon protested, still standing and not making any effort to move. “It’s only...” He quickly glanced behind him as subtly as possible, as if he wasn’t obviously looking at his phone.  
“...four thirty.”

Ric groaned at that, too tired and frustrated to form an actual response.  
Damon seemed to pick up on that, chewing his bottom lip a bit. Wether that was from anticipation or nervousness, neither of them will ever know.  
Ric closed his eyes for a moment, expecting the vampire to move or do anything other than just stand there.  
Of course, he didn’t.

“So...you can just go back to sleep...” Damon said slowly, ignoring the half-hearted glare Ric gave him. “...and I’ll just watch you and stuff. Keep you safe or whatever...” Damon trailed off, cringing a little as he didn’t even find his own lie convincing.

“Fine. Just don’t do anything weird, okay?” Ric grumbled in response, already drifting off again as his eyes slipped closed once more.

“Are you kidding? I’m the least weird guy you know.” Damon joked with a much softer tone, coaxing Ric further into unconsciousness.

The teacher gave a light laugh before he was completely out, leaving Damon to do whatever it his wanted.

The vampire quickly brought his phone back around, scrambling to reopen the camera app as quickly as he could.

Yeah, he likes taking pictures of the people he loves. He enjoys having them with him wherever he’s at. Always in his pocket whenever he needs them.  
Especially when he’s being ousted by them all again. Thrown to the sidelines as usual because he did something reckless.  
Having pictures of the few good memories he has is a comfort to him during those rough patches.

And plus, he just really likes staring at Ric whenever he’s at work.  
And he has some absolutely priceless pictures of Elena and Stefan, too. Perfect for future blackmail!

He moved around occasionally to get as many angles as possible, but not going overkill on the amount of pictures.  
He only needs a few. Just enough to keep him sane in case he needs them.

He remembers when he was but a naive vamp, not backing any of his photos up just in case his phone got lost or broken.  
And they tend to that.  
A lot.  
Luckily, with the wonders of cloud saving, he doesn’t panic over losing precious memories anymore.

Granted, it is a little awkward when someone finds out he’s been taking secret pictures of them.  
Like when Stefan found out. He’s still not sure if his little brother was just confused or downright horrified.  
Which makes alllll the embarrassing pictures he has even better. Because deep down Stefan knows he has them, and probably has nightmares about it.

Maybe the nightmares are an exaggeration, but Damon likes to have hopes sometimes.

Once he felt he’d taken enough, he tossed his phone aside, watching it land on a chair. Hopefully he doesn’t forget where it’s at later...

He took his rightful place back under the covers, snuggling into Ric’s side with a satisfied hum.  
Sadly, because his boyfriend is already asleep and not nearly conscious enough to cuddle back, Damon is less than happy with the position.  
But it’ll have to do. Besides, when he wakes up, he’ll probably feel Ric’s arms securely wrapped around him once again.

As much as he insists to Ric and everyone else that he definitely isn’t into cuddles, they all know the truth.  
Damon practically feeds off of affection. His need for it is almost as bad as his need for blood, but a little more concealable.  
As much as he craves it, he never admits to it. Maybe it’s pride, or his fear of getting rejected, but he just can’t bring himself to acknowledge it.

Luckily for them both, Alaric is excellent on picking up on Damon’s needs. Allowing the vampire to continue to ignore his desires in favor of empty protests.

Although Damon would be lying if he said the idea of Ric forcing him to admit it scares the hell out of him...  
But he wouldn’t do that, right?  
Right. Definitely.

With his nerves at ease, he closed his eyes slowly, smiling to himself proudly.  
He’s got a whole new set of therapy-pictures at his disposal. He hopes he won’t have to use them anytime soon, but with how things go around here, he wouldn’t be surprised.

Still though, for now he’s safe.  
And so is his collection of mildly stalker-ish photos.


	16. Update thingy

Hey! So sorry this isn’t probably what y’all wanted/were expecting when I updated but I just thought this was important?? I’ll delete this chapter once the next fic is up as I don’t wanna keep a bunch of updates as part of the chapter/word counts

I still adore Dalaric and I appreciate y’all’s support so much. I’m still writing fics for them however I haven’t finished any for personal reasons.

Basically I just have a lot of mental crap going on that makes concentrating on writing really hard because all I hear is screaming and yeah I just can’t write for long periods of time because of it

BUT ANYWAYS  
Hope you guys didn’t mind the intermission, and once I finish one of the fics, I should be back to regular updates as I’ve been promising since I’m learning how to deal with sharing my brain with like four other voices

See you guys on the other side 💖 (I mean technically it collapsed but shHSHS)

(Special shoutout to Dawnsummer for being extra snazzy-)


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